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BT885  .L6  1858 

Lord,  David  Nevins, 

1792-1880. 

Coming  and  reign  of  Christ  / 


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TIIE 


COMING   AND  EEIGN 


CHRIST. 


THE    KINGDOM    OF   THIS    WORLD    HAS    BECOME    OUR   LORD'S. 


BY      ^/ 

DAVID    N.    LORD 


NEW-YORK. 
FRANKLIN    KNIGHT, 

133  NASSAU  STREET. 
1858. 


Entered,  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1858,  by 

DAVID  X  LORD, 

In  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  for  the  Southern  District  of  >*ew  York. 


.1  .  .1     i:  k  ed, 
Frist  vpcr, 

4..  (  S     V. 


PREFACE 


The  object  of  this  work  is,  to  present  a  brief 
statement  of  the  principles  on  which  the  pro- 
phetic Scriptures  are  to  be  interpreted ;  to  give 
an  outline  of  the  great  scheme  of  God's  govern- 
ment over  the  world  ;  to  show  that  Christ  is  to 
come  in  person  and  establish  his  throne  on  the 
earth  at  the  introduction  of  the  millennial  dispen- 
sation; to  state  the  great  events  that  are  to  at- 
tend and  follow  his  coming ;  and  to  indicate  the 
point  which  the  accomplishment  of  the  great 
scheme  of  prophecy  has  reached,  and  the  princi- 
pal predictions  that  are  yet  to  be  fulfilled  before 
his  advent. 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER  I. 
Many  Important  Prophecies  have  not  yet  been  Accomplished.    The 
Two  Leading  Views  of  the  Future  Administration  over  the  World  they  are 
held  to  Reveal,   --------    9 

CHAPTER   II. 
Their  Different  Views  of  the  Revelations  made  in  the  Prophecies 
are  the  result  of  different  modes  of  Interpretation.     The  Princi- 
ples on  which  Anti-millcnarians  proceed  in  their  constructions  of  them,      16 

CHAPTER  III. 
The  Principles  of  Interpretation  on  which  Millenarians  Proceed. 
The  Laws  of  Figurative  Language,  -----        28 

CHAPTER  IV. 
The  Principles  of  Interpretation;    the  Laws  of  Prophetic  Sym- 
bols, -----_.-40 

CHAPTER  V. 

The  Redemption  of  the  "World  is  not  to  take  place  under  the  Present 

Dispensation.     Instead,  it  is  a  period  of  trial ;  of  mixed  excitements  to  evil 

and  good,  under  which  men  are  left  to  act  out  their  hearts  and  show  that 

they  are  what  God  in  the  work  of  Salvation  contemplates  them,        -        47 

CHAPTER  VI. 
The  aim  of  the  Present  Economy  is  to  Prepare  the  way  for  Another 
Dispensation  under  which  Salvation  is  to  be  Extended  to  all  Na- 
tions and  the  World  Redeemed,  -  -  -  -        63 

CHAPTER  VII. 
The  Manifestations  that  have  already  been  made  of  the  Hearts  of 
Men,  both  Unrenewed  and  Renewed,  under  this  Dispensation,  have 
been  very  Great  and  Decisive,    -----        74 

CHAPTER  VIII. 
The  office  of  this  trial  of  the  Hearts  of  Men  under  the  Present 
Dispensation  is  to  Prepare  the  way  for  the  Salvation  of  the  Race 

AT  LARGE  THAT  IS  TO  COME  INTO  EXISTENCE  IN  THE  AGES  THAT  FOLLOW,       90 


VI  CONTEN 

CIIAPTER  IX 
Thf  Aim  of  Cra  Mrra  Tbmpi  '  I  I'1  Mn N     Th*  tJnki  of  all 

the  Iiifallin  Orbfl   with  this  Redeemed  world  in    Om  Empire  under   Ills 

iwaj,  ........       y4 

OHAPTBB  X 

TBI  Nj  miii  i'i  i  MBM  Of  Hank-  and  HotTCOTBI  ivimm  dm  is  Exai.t- 
The  whole  circuit  of  the  Orbs  Peopled  by  Intelligences,  -         lUli 

OHAPTEB  XL 

TlIF.   T.MI  MUTANTS   OK  TUT.    BliTlILT   WoREDS  ARE   MADE   ATTAINTED   WITH 

ID  WoiiK  of  Redemption,  .....         119 

.      CHAPTER  XII. 
Christ's  Troon  in  Heaven,  u  vol  the  thkone  of  David,  -        130 

CHAPTER  XIII. 
The  Perpetuity  of  the  Human  Race,        ....         150 

CHAPTER   XIV. 
The  Perpetuity  of  thf.  Hum \n  Race,       ....         170 

CHAPTER  XV. 
Christ's  Second  Coming  is  to  Precede  thf  Mii.i.kvnum,  -        18-1 

CHAPTER  XVI. 
Christ  is  to  Reign  in  Person  on  the  Earth  di  i:in<;  m  Millennium,  197 

CHAPTER   XVII. 
Christ  is  at  His  Coming  to  introduce  a  New  Dispensation,         -         210 

CHAPTER  XVIII. 
III.  is  to  Institute  this  X'f.w   Dispensation  and  enter  on  His  Reign 
id  u  at  thf  Destruction  of  the  Fourth  Empire  under  thk  SlTUII 
Trumpet,  -------- 

CHAPTER  XIX. 
That  Christ  is  thus  to  Come  and  Reign  in  Person  on  TnE  Earth  i 
I  mi    IBM  Ti:a<  niNC.  M  thk  S-  ki  iti  iles,    -  -  -  - 

CHAPTER   XX. 
(  iir.i-i>  C.mino  —  the  First  QkxAI   BtKHTI  that  are  to  FOLLOW  it  — 
The  Resurrection  of  the   Holy  Dead.— The  Tr;m«-f  nnation  of  Eivii./ 
lievers,        --...... 


CONTENTS.  Vll 

CHAPTER  XXI. 

Events  that  are  immediately  to  follow  Christ's  Coming. — The  De- 
struction of  the  Anti-Christian  Powers— The  Binding  op  Satan,  272 

CHAPTER  xxrr. 

Events  that  are  immediately  to  follow  Christ's  Coming. — The  Judg- 
ment of  the  Living  Nations. — The  Restoration  of  tho  Israelites. — The 
effusion  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  -----        280 

CHAPTER  XXIII. 

Events  that  are  speedily  to  follow  Christ's  Coming. — The  New  Crea- 
tion of  the  Heavens  and  Earth. — The  Earth  is  not  to  be  Annihilated  by  a 
Conflagration,         .......        286 

CHAPTER  XXIV. 
The  Earth  not  to  be  Annihilated  by  a  Conflagration,  -        300 

CHAPTER  XXV. 
The  Earth  is  not  to  be  Annihilated  at  Christ's  Coming,  -        314 

CHAPTER  XXVI. 

Events  that  are  to  precede  Christ's  Coming. — The  Drying  of  the  Eu- 
phrates, or  Alienation  of  the  People  from  the  National  Hierarchies. — The 
Emission  of  the  Unclean  Spirits  to  Gather  the  Kings  to  the  great  battle 
against  God,  ---..._        328 

CHAPTER  XXVII. 

Events  that  are  to  Precede  Christ's  Coming.— The  Pall  of  the  present 
Civil  Governments  of  Western  Europe,  and  union  of  the  Ten  Kingdoms  in 
One  Empire.  The  Restoration  of  the  Catholic  Hierarchies  to  supreme 
power,        ........        336 

CHAPTER  XXVIII. 

Events  that  are  to  precede  Christ's  Coming— The  Slaughter  and 
Resurrection  of  the  witnesses,  ....        342 

CHAPTER  XXIX. 

Events  that  are  to  Precede  Christ's  Coming. — Tho  Close  of  the  Turkish 
Domination  over  the  Eastern  Churches.— The  Third  Woe,  -  -        350 


VI 11  \  TEXTS. 

chapter  xxx. 

ti!  m   \  i  Coming. — The  announcement  by  the 

Angfe]  in  Mid-heaven,  thai  th<-  Boor  of  God'i  Jn  Igmenl  is  Gome.— Tl. 
of  Jl;it.yloii.     Th>:  Warning  Dot  to  pay  Homage  to  the  Civil  Powers  rcjiro- 
scntcd   by   the-    Beast   nor   to  ttM  .    I    by   its 

linage,        ....--.-         356 

CHAPTER  XXXI. 

BTXirTS  that  are  to  precede  Christ's  Coming. — The  Sealing  of  the  Ser- 
vants of  God. — The  Destruction  of  Babylon. — Signs  of  Christ's  Coming  in 
the  Heavens,  and  on  the  Earth,       -----         303 

CHAPTER   XXXII. 
The  Prophetic  Periods  of  the  Apocalypse  and  Daniel,  -        371 

CHAPTER  XXX I II. 

The  Glorified  and  the  Unglorified  of  the  Race  during  the  Mil- 
lennium.   --------        398 

CHAPTER  XXXIV. 

Conclusion. — The   certainty  that  these   Events   are   Foreshown. — 

The  Children  of  God  generally  are  to  be  led  ere  long  to  see  that  this  is  the 

Scheme  of  His   Government,  and  to  look  for  the  speedy  Coming  of  the 

Redeemer,  -  ....        419 


THE 


PRESENT  AND  FUTURE  DISPENSATION. 


CHAPTER    I. 

MANY  IMPORTANT  PROPHECIES  HAVE  NOT  YET  BEEN  ACCOMPLISHED. 
THE  TWO  LEADING  VIEWS  OF  THE  FUTURE  ADMINISTRATION  OYER 
THE  WORLD  THEY  ARE  HELD  TO  REVEAL. 

A  large  share  of  the  prophecies  both  of  the  Old 
and  New  Testament,  it  is  generally  admitted  by 
those  who  receive  them  as  a  revelation  from  God, 
have  not  yet  had  their  fulfillment.  They  foreshow 
an  infliction  of  great  judgments  on  the  nations  ; 
a  spread  of  the  gospel ;  a  persecution  of  God's  faith- 
ful people  ;  an  overthrow  of  the  apostate  churches  ; 
a  coming  of  Christ ;  a  destruction  of  the  persecuting 
civil  governments  ;  an  extinction  of  idolatry ;  a  re- 
surrection of  the  holy  dead  ;  a  judgment  of  the  liv- 
ing ;  a  conversion  of  the  nations  ;  a  repeal  of  the 
curse  of  toil,  pain,  sorrow,  and  death  brought  on  man 
by  the  fall ;  a  new  creation  of  the  heavens  and  the 
earth  ;  a  reign  of  Christ  over  the  ransomed  world  ; 
and  a  variety  of  subordinate  events  that  are  yet  most 
certainly  future  ;  and  some  of  them  that  are  of  great 
significance,  it  is  very  generally  held,  are  at  hand  ; 
and  may  probably  burst  on  the  world  ere  the  present 


10  THE   ANTI-MILLEXARUN    VIEW 

generation   |  From  the  Bcene.     The  questions 

then,  What  La  the  true  1 1 1 « * ; 1 1 1 i i iir  of  these  predicti 
what  ifl  it   scheme  of  administration  which 

they  onfold  :    what  arc  the  BC6HM  of  trial  and  of  tri- 
umph thxragh  which   they  show  the  foll< 
Ohrisl  are  yet  to  pass  ;  what  is  to  be  the  redemj 
of  the  nations  which  he  is  to  accomplish  at  his  com- 
ing ;  and  what  is  to  be  the  scene  and  nature  of  his 
everlasting  kingdom — are  questions  of  great  moment 
and   entitled  to  the  serious  consideration  of  tl 
who  receive  the  Scriptures  as  the  word  of  God.     \ 
dissimilar  and  in  a  large  measure  directly  opp 

views   are   entertained   in   regard   to   them. 

A  large  part  of  the  Protestant  churi  b  in  this 

country  and  Europe,  maintain  that   the-e  prophi 
arc  in  a  great  mi  significant  of  events  of  a  dif- 

ferent nature  from  those  which  they  literally  dei. 
and  arc  therefore  either  to  be  Lnterpr  pho- 

rical.er  spiritualized  as  though  they  were  all 
fhey  deny  accordingly  that  Christ  is  ever  to  r 
over  the  w«»rld  in  person  :  that  the  risen  sainl 

i  with  him  here  :  and  that  he  is  io  institute  an 
administration  over  men  that  will  differ  essentially 
from  that  he  is  now  i  They  h«»ld  that  the 

in  of  providence  and  the  condition  o[  the  oat  i 
intinue  much  ■•;-  they  new  leral 

judgment,  with  the  exception  that  the  gospel  ie 
be   in     Le   known    to    the    race    universally,  ai 

DUjabera  arc  t,,  he  converted  :   that  better  human 
to  he  instituted  :   the  useful  ai ' 


OF   THE   FUTURE   DISPENSATION.  11 

be  much  advanced,  knowledge  more  widely  diffused, 
gross  crimes  prevented,  the  evils  of  poverty  mitigated, 
physical  suffering  greatly  diminished,  and  the  race 
raised  to  a  measure  of  refinement,  virtue  and  happi- 
ness, such  as  only  the  most  favored  have  hitherto 
known  ;  that  when  a  few  centuries  have  thus  passed, 
mankind  will  reach  the  end  of  their  career  in  this 
world  ;  that  Christ  will  descend  from  heaven,  and 
calling  the  dead  from  the  grave,  and  judging  them 
along  with  the  living,  will  then  put  an  end  to  the 
multiplication  of  the  race,  by  transferring  the  re- 
deemed to  heaven  and  the  lost  to  the  realms  of  Satan 
and  his  hosts,  and  the  earth  and  perhaps  the  whole 
solar  system  will  be  annihilated  by  a  conflagration. 
According  to  this  view,  the  result  of  the  divine  ad- 
ministration of  the  world  will  be,  as  far  as  can  be 
judged,  the  everlasting  ruin  of  immensely  greater 
numbers  of  mankind,  most  certainly  of  adults,  than 
are  redeemed  ;  of  the  triumph  of  Satan  in  destroying, 
on  a  vastly  greater  scale,  than  of  Christ  in  saving  : 
and  the  aim  of  God  in  the  measures  of  his  govern- 
ment will  thence  at  length  be  seen  to  be  far  more  to 
exemplify  his  sovereignty  and  justice  in  punishing 
the  rebellious,  than  his  power,  wisdom  and  grace  in 
restoring  them  to  holiness  and  happiness.  The  work 
of  redemption  on  this  view  is  to  be  comprised  within 
comparatively  narrow  limits — extending  to  only  a 
small  .portion  of  the  fallen  ;  and  to  have  for  its  ob- 
ject accordingly,  a  mere  demonstration  that  God  can 
have  mercy  on  the  guilty  consistently  with  justice 


L2  THE  mii.u:\  \i:i  \\   vu:\v 

and  truth,  rather  than  the  actual  • 

on  a  scale  commensurate  with  the  wonderfulne 

the  measures  by  which  salvation  is  confei 

to  continue  in  bu 
generations  through  eternal  ages;  and  its  glory  th 
fore  will  lie  chiefly  inits  showing  that  he 
and  eauaj  if  be  chose,  to  the  salvation  of  counl 
hosts  ; — not,  as  the  Scriptui 

haustless  riches  of  the  love  he  actually  »s  in 

Chrisl  and  ie  to  manifest  in  the  complete  extric 
of  the  nations  at  length  from  tl. 
sin,  and  elevation  to  holiness  and bL  -  in  their 

successive  generations  through  the  round  of 
years.    Those  who  regard  this  as  the  scheme  of  ad- 
ministration, foreshown  in  the  prophecii  ailed 
Anti-millenarians,  and  Post-millennialists,  becaus 
their  denying  the  personal  reign  of  Chrisl  on  the 
earth  during  the  thousand  years. 

A  considerable  body  of  evangelical  Christians  in 
this  country,  Greal  Britain  and  Ireland,  with  many 
in  the  British  colonies  and  missions,  and  a  few  in 
Germany,  maintain,  on  the  contrary,  thai  the  pr< 
dispensation  is  drawing  to  its  close,  and  that  it  is  in 
-  be  marked  by  avenging  jn 

on   the   nati<»ii>.  instead  of   their    eonvei  I   by 

from  the  truth,  and  a  i're>h  persecu- 
tion of  the  witnesses  of  Jesus  ;  that  at  the  comm< 
menl   of  the  Millennium  Chrisl   is  to  come  in 
cloud  itate  poi  1  by  the 

wild  beast  and  false  prophet,  raise  the  holy  dead,  and 


OF  THE   FUTURE   DISPENSATION.  13 

commence  a  reign  in  person  over  the  world  ;  that 
the  living  nations  are  then  to  be  judged,  and  those 
of  them  not  before  renewed,  that  are  not  consigned 
to  punishment,  are  to  be  converted  ;  that  those  who 
are  regenerated  are  to  be  freed  from  sin  and  its  curse 
in  this  life  ;  that  the  earth  itself  is  to  be  renewed, 
and  be  the  seat  forever  of  Christ's  kingdom  ;  that 
the  work  of  redemption,  with  the  exception  of  a 
short  period  during  which  at  the  close  of  the  Millen- 
nium, Satan  is  to  be  released  from  prison,  and  again 
delude  the  nations,  is  to  be  continued  and  embrace  all 
who  come  into  existence  from  generation  to  genera- 
tion through  everlasting  years.  They  maintain  ac- 
cordingly, that  a  new  dispensation  is  to  be  introduced 
at  the  coming  of  Christ ;  that  Satan,  instead  of  tri- 
umphing in  the  ruin  of  by  far  the  greatest  part  of 
the  human  family,  will  be  baffled  and  defeated  ;  that 
sin  and  destruction  will  be  allowed  to  extend  no 
farther  than  will  serve  to  prepare  the  way — by  the 
truths  which  they  set  forth — for  the  salvation  of  the 
whole  race  that  comes  into  existence  thereafter  ; 
that  Christ's  redemption  is  therefore  at  length  to  be 
a  redemption  of  the  whole  body  of  the  living  nations 
in  their  endless  generations,  and  thence  is  to  have 
a  greatness  commensurate  with  the  grandeur  of  God's 
perfections,  the  wonderfulness  of  Christ's  incarnation 
and  death,  and  the  benignity  and  power  of  the  Spirit's 
influences  ;  an  incomprehensible  vastness,  a  glory 
ever  augmenting  and  flashing  its  splendors  in  brighter 
and   brighter  effulgence  through   eternal   ages  ; — a 


1  1  tiii:  DD  THE  vi; 

trophy  worthy  in  its  greatness  and  beauty  of  the 
wisdom,  power  and  Love  that  rear  it.  Those  who 
rtain  this  view  of  the  great  scheme  revealed  in 
the  prophecies,  art-  called  MiUensrians  and  I 
millennialists,  from  their  holding  that  Christ  is  to 
come  in  person  at  the  comm  at  of  the  Millen- 

nium, and  reign  on  the  earth  during  the  1 
denoted  by  that  pei 
These  views  of  the  plan  of  God's  future  administra- 
tion over  the  world,  thus  differ  from  each  other  in 
the   most  essential  particulars,  and  on 
scale.    The  work  of  redemption  on  the  Anti-millen- 
arian  theory,  is  infinitely  less  than  on  the  Millen- 
arian,  in   its  continuance,  the  number  who  an 
share  its  blee  be  greatness  of  the  exhibition  it 

tonus  of  God,  and  the  grandeur  it  reflects  on  his 
wisdom.    It  is  altogether  incredible,  the  that 

they  can  have  equal  authority  from  his  word.    ]• 
of  them  is  revealed  there  as  the  scheme  of  hifl 
ministration,  the  other   cannot   be.     It   were   to  im- 
peach   hifl    wisdom   and   truth  :   it  were   to  treat 
word  as  though  it  were  inadequate  a-  a  guide,  to 
Buppose  it  to  be   so  indeterminate  and  equivocal  in 
itfl   meaning,  that   each  of  th  .dlar 

and  contradictory  may  legitimately  he  deduced  from 

it.     [fone  "1'  them  Lb  true,  the  other  most  certainly 
is  not.    If  one  is  worthy  of  the  attribut  his 

Lisplay  them  in  their  fullest  efiulgi  1  fill  his 

kingdom  forever  with  adoration  and  joy  ;  the  other 
must  immeasurably  mi-  \  de- 


IS   OF   GREAT   MOMENT.  15 

tract  from  his  glory,  and  shed  a  misleading  and  dis- 
astrous influence  on  those  who  adopt  it.  The  ques- 
tion then,  which  of  them  presents  that  view,  which 
he  has  revealed,  of  the  administration  he  is  to  exer- 
cise, is  of  the  utmost  moment,  and  deserves  the  care- 
ful consideration  of  every  reader  of  his  word. 


16  DIFFERENT   PRINCIPLES 


CHAPTER    II. 

THEIR  DIFFERENT  VIEWS  OF  THE  REVELATIONS  HADE  IN  THE  PRO- 
PHECIES ARE  THE  RESULT  OF  DIFFERENT  MODES  OF  INTERPRETA- 
TION.  THE  PRINCIPLES  OH   WHICH    ANTI-MII.I.ENARIANS    FROCEED 

IN  THEIR  CONSTRUCTIONS  OF  THEM. 

Where  now  lies  the  reason  of  the  deduction  by 
ihr.M-  parties  from  the  Scriptures,  of  these  different 
views  of  the  divine  purposes?  Such,  diverse  and 
opposite  constructions  of  the  same  revelations  would 
plainly  be  impossible,  were  the  rules  of  interpreter 
i it 'ii  on  which  they  proceed  the  same.  The  same 
laws  applied  to  the  same  revelations  could  not  yield 
results  so  utterly  dissimilar.  Their  belief,  according- 
ly, thai  the  views  they  severally  entertain,  are  taught 
in  the  Scriptures,  is  the  result  of  a  difference  in  the 
principles  on  which  they  mala'  their  expositions. 
Their  modes  of  interpretation  are  as  unlike  as  the 
view-  are  in  which  they  terminate. 

Thus,  the  Anti-millenarian  obtains  his  Bvstem  by 
disregarding  the  established  laws  of  language  and  of 
symbols,  and  ascribing  to  the  prediction-  a  wholly 
imaginary  and  arbitrary  signification  by  a  pro 


OF   INTERPRETATION.  17 

called  spiritualization.  He  has  no  specific  and  un- 
ci pi  i  vocal  proofs  of  any  one  of  the  elements  of  bis 
peculiar  system  of  views.  He  rejects  that  which  is 
directly  taught,  and  substitutes  in  its  place,  as  a  sort 
of  parallelism  to  it,  an  artificial  scheme  which  his 
fancy  has  wrought. 

The  Millenarian,  on  the  contrary,  obtains  his 
views  by  interpreting  the  language  and  symbols 
through  which  the  divine  purposes  are  revealed,  by 
their  legitimate  and  established  laws,  and  has  the  di- 
rect and  express  authority  of  the  sacred  word  for 
every  point  that  he  maintains.  He  takes  that  which 
the  prophecies  mean — interpreted  according  to  the 
established  laws  of  language,  and  the  principles  on 
which  symbols  are  used, — as  expressing  the  purposes 
they  are  employed  to  foreshow.  This  statement  we 
may  verify  by  a  multitude  of  exemplifications. 

First.  The  Anti-millenarians  do  not  allege  any 
positive  and  explicit  proof  from  the  Scriptures  of  any 
of  the  great  elements  of  their  system.  1.  Thus,  they 
do  not  allege  any  passage  that  directly  teaches  that 
Christ  is  not  to  come  until  after  the  Millennium  has 
passed.  There  is  no  such  passage  in  the  sacred 
volume.  2.  They  do  not  allege  any  direct  statement 
that  the  holy  dead  are  not  to  be  raised  from  the 
-rave,  till  after  the  close  of  the  Millennium.  There 
is  no  such  representation  in  the  word  of  God.  3. 
They  do  not  produce  any  direct  testimony  from  the 
prophecies  that  Christ  is  not  to  reign  in  person  on 
the  earth  during  the  thousand  years.     No  trace  of 


18  Tin:  ANTi-Miu.r.x.wn.w  gHBOBY 

Mich  an    intimation    •  I  page.     4. 

They  haw  nq  proofs  of  their  doctrine  thai  the  risen 

saint  ■         .11  with  Christ  in  person  daring 

that  period.  5.  They  have  no  direct  testimonies  to 
sustain  their  doctrine  thai  the  nations  are  to  be  con- 
verted I  (  second  coming.  No  hint  to 
that  effect  is  found  in  any  of  the  prophets.  6.  They 
have  no  direct  proofs  of  their  doctrine  that  the 
Israelites  arc  never  to  be  restored  t<>  their  ancient 
land,  aid  reorganized  as  a  nation.     7.  They  havi 

proof  that  the  race  i-  to  complete  its  num- 
bers, and  the  work  of  redemption  <  Christ's 
second  coining*.  8.  Nor  is  there  anj  vela- 
tion,  that  the  earth  is  then  to  be  annihilated  by  a 
conflagration.  Of  these  great  elements  of  their 
tem,  they  have  let  a  particle  of  direct  and  explicit 
proof.  They  are  all  the  work  of  mere  assumption, 
inference,  or  fancy. 

Secondly.   Instead  of  relying  on    the  direct   t 
mony  of  the  word  of  God  to  support  their 
they  deliberately  and  systematically  set  it  aside,  that 
they  may  substitute  in  its  place  what  they  regar 
a  parallel  or  analogous  set  of  truths.    The  principle 
(»n  which  they  proceed  is,  that   the  literal  is  a  mere 
veliich-  of  the  spiritual:  that  predictions  therefore 
of  Christ's  coming  in  person  at  the  period  of  the 
overthrow  <>f  tic  I  by  the  fourth  1 

Daniel  vii.  13, 14,  re  predictions  of  his  spiritual 

eoini.  dictions  that  he  is  then  to  raise  the  holy 

ly  predictions  that  he  will  impart  -pin- 


OF   INTERPRETATION.  19 

tual  life  to  the  impenitent  living  ;  the  revelation  that 
he  is  then  to  reign  in  person  and  glory  on  the  earth, 
is  only  a  revelation  that  he  is  to  reign  by  influences, 
providences,  and  a  moral  administration,  as  he  now 
rules  the  world  ;  promises  that  the  Israelites  are  then 
to  be  restored  to  their  land,  converted,  and  distin- 
guished by  favors,  as  God's  chosen  people,  are  only 
promises  of  the  conversion  of  the  Gentiles  ;  and  so 
of  other  prophecies.  The  specific  events  that  are 
foreshown,  the  blessings  that  are  expressly  pro- 
mised, are  rejected  as  mere  representatives  of  a 
totally  different  class  of  events  and  gifts  which  they 
fancy  are  parallels  or  counterparts  of  those  which 
the  language  and  other  media  of  the  revelations 
directly  denote.  It  will  be  enough  to  exemplify  this 
system  by  a  single  specimen. 

"  And  it  shall  come  to  pass  in  the  last  days,  the 
mountain  of  the  Lord's  house  shall  be  established  in 
the  top  of  the  mountains,  and  exalted  above  the  hills  ; 
and  all  nations  shall  flow  unto  it.  And  many  people 
shall  go  and  say  :  Come  ye  and  let  us  go  up  to  the 
mountain  of  the  Lord,  to  the  house  of  the  God  of 
Jacob  ;  and  he  will  teach  us  of  his  ways,  and  we  will 
walk  in  his  paths  :  for  out  of  Zion  shall  go  forth  the 
law,  and  the  word  of  the  Lord  from  Jerusalem.  And 
he  shall  judge  among  the  nations,  and  shall  rebuke 
many  people  ;  and  they  shall  beat  their  swords  into 
plow-shares,  and  their  spears  into  pruning-hooks  : 
nation  shall  not  lift  up  sword  against  nation,  neither 
shall  they  learn  war  any  more." — Isaiah  ii.  2-4. 


20  Tin-:  AWOMXVUBABLLB  THEOBT 

This  aocording  to  the  grammatical  meaning  of  the 
language,  La  an  explicit  prediction  that  in  the  last 
days,  the  mountain  on  which  Jehovah's  temple  stands 
is  to  '"•  established  alcove  the  aejghboring  mountains  ; 

thai  all  nations  shall  go  to  it  for  instruction  i'  -: 
Lng  hie  will,  because  his  word  La  there  to  be  promul- 
gates ;  that  he  shall  judge  and  rebuke  many  people, 
ami  that  they  >hall  universally  discontinue  their  wars 
on  each  other,  and  convert  their  weapon-  into  imple- 
ments of  agriculture.  It  Is  a  specific  and  clear 
prediction  therefore,  that  in  the  lasl  days  Jehovah  is 
to  have  a  temple  on  inonnt  Zion  at  Jerusalem  :  that 
lie  is  there  to  make  known  his  will  ;  that  all  nations 
an-  to  go  there  for  instruction  ;  and  that  they  are 
thereafter  forever  to  live  in  peace  with  each  other. 
It  implies  accordingly  the  restoration  ami  convert 
of  the  Israelites.  It  is  indeed  defined  by  the  prophet 
as  a  "word  that  Isaiah  saw  concerning  Jerusalem 
ami  Judah,"  ami  it  closes  with  a  direct  appeal  to  "  the 
house  of  Jacob  t<>  come  ami  walk  in  tin-  light  <'t  Je- 
hovah." v.  5.  Now  those  parts  of  thia  prophecy  which 

are  a!   war  with  their  theory  of   God's    purpOfi         A 
ti-millenariaiis  reject,  and  maintain  that  theyare  mere 

vehicles  of  a  wholly  different  Benae  j  or  representa- 
tives of  a  wholly  differenl  class  <>i'  objects  ami  occur- 
rences.    Thus    they    assume    that    the   Lord's    b 

instead  of  a  temple,  denotes  the  Christian   church, 
without    any  reference  t"  the   Israelites  ;  that 
flowing  el'  all   nations  t<(  his  house  Bignifu  s  theii 
tering  the  church  :  that  the  desire  "t"  many  people 


OF   INTERPRETATION.  21 

to  receive  instruction  there,  means  that  they  are  to 
desire  instruction  in  the  church  ;  and  that  the  going 
forth  of  the  word  of  Jehovah  from  Jerusalem,  is  sim- 
ply the  proclamation  of  the  gospel  in  the  church. 
Now — 

In  the  first  place,  This  construction  is  wholly  arbi- 
trary. There  is  no  mention  of  the  Christian  church 
in  the  passage.  There  is  no  object  or  word  in  it 
that  stands  for  the  church.  Jehovah's  temple  on  the 
top  of  the  mountains,  is  not  the  name  of  the  church, 
any  more  than  a  temple  on  any  other  site  is.  The 
fancy  is  altogether  groundless  and  absurd. 

In  the  next  place,  There  is  no  principle  or  law  of 
language  by  which  the  passage  can  have  such  a  mean- 
ing. They  do  not  indeed  affect  to  found  their  con- 
struction on  the  language  of  the  prediction  ;  but  on 
the  things  which  it  denotes  ;  and  especially  the 
Lord's  house,  Zion,  and  Jerusalem.  But  there  is  no 
law  by  which  in  the  connexion  in  which  they  stand, 
they  can  denote  the  church.  They  cannot  by  virtue 
of  any  thing  that  is  affirmed  of  them  in  the  passage  ; 
for  the  imputed  meaning  is  not  derived  from  the 
language,  but  from  the  things  named  by  the  nouns 
house,  Zion  and  Jerusalem.  But  Jehovah's  temple, 
mount  Zion,  and  Jerusalem,  do  not  stand  for  the 
church.  They  are  not  any  where  in  the  sacred  vol- 
ume declared  to  stand  for  it.  And  they  are  not  used 
in  the  prediction  as  representatives  of  it.  Places  and 
material  objects  are  never  used  by  a  figure  as  repre- 
sentatives of  something  differing  from  themselves, 


22  in;  ;lli:\ai:ia\  EHBOSY 

except  it  be  by  the  allegory.    Bui  this  prediction  is 
not  allegorical.    Jt  is  not  claimed  to  be  such  by  those 

who  tr.  at  it  as  i  atative  :  and  it  cannot  b< 

cause  there  \e  no  analogy  between  Jehovah's  temple, 
mount  Zion,  and  Jerusalem,  and  the  Christian  church. 
The  temple  ii  a  structure  in  which  worship  Lb  to  I 
fered  to  Jehovah  ;  Zion  is  the  mountain  or  bill  on  or 
near  which  that  temple  is  to  Btand  ;  and  Jerusalem  is 
the  city  which  is  to  Burround  that  mount.  What  can 
be  more  incongruous,  therefore,  than  to  fancy  that  the 

structure,  the  mount,  ami  the  city  that    surrounds  it, 

are  representatives  of  the  body  of  believers  that  are 
scattered  through  t lie  various  regions  of  the  globe, 

who  belong  to  the  Christian   church?     Ji*  they  were 

used  as  representatives  on  the  principles  of  ana'. 
the  temple  would  stand  for  sacred  edifices  in  other 

places  in  which  worship  is  to  be  offered  to  Jehovah  ; 
mount  Zion  for  the  sites  on  which  those  edii 

ted  :   and   Jerusalem  lor   the   cities  or  inhabited 
neighborhoods  which  are  to  surround  th 
edifices  ;  while  the  Christian  asseml 

Worship  in  th08S  structure-,  would  be  re;  I  by 

the  Israelites  who  are  to  worship  in  Jehovah's  temple 
on  mount   Zion.     The  construction  placed   | 
interpreters  on  the  prediction  i<  therefore  directly 
against  analogy,  and  confutes  itself.    Their  err 

much  such   as   he  would   make,  who  d  the 

that    the    Senate   and   lb  W a&hi]  _'    D    are 

the   representatives  of  the   people  of  the  United 
p,  Bhould  maintain  first   that   the  Capitol  in  that 


OF   INTERPRETATION   ERRONEOUS.  23 

city  ;  next,  the  area  in  which  it  stands  ;  and  thirdly 
the  city,  or  the  District  of  Columbia,  that  surrounds 
it,  are  representatives  of  the  population  of  the 
United  States  ;  and  should  therefore  hold,  that  they 
fill  that  office  exclusively  in  all  the  enactments  of 
the  national  legislature  in  which  the  capitol,  the 
grounds  that  surround  it,  and  the  city  or  district  in 
which  it  is  situated  happen  to  be  named.  Can  any 
thing  exceed  the  error  and  absurdity  of  such  a  the- 
ory ?  What  expositors  of  law  such  interpreters 
would  make  ! 

In  the  third  place,  There  is  nothing  in  the  usages 
of  society  that  gives  any  authority  to  such  construc- 
tions of  the  Scriptures.  The  principle  is  absolutely 
unknown  in  every  other  sphere  of  life,  and  if  intro- 
duced into  laws,  titles  of  property,  history,  or  any 
other  records  of  human  transactions,  or  opinions, 
would  make  their  meaning  wholly  uncertain,  and 
render  them  worthless.  What  would  title-deeds  be 
worth,  if  the  persons,  places,  and  property  named  in 
them,  were  treated  as  mere  representatives  of  other 
persons,  places,  and  things  ;  and  it  were  left  to  the 
caprice  or  fancy  of  the  judge,  whose  office  it  is  to  ex- 
pound them,  to  determine  who  the  represented  per- 
sons, the  real  owners  of  the  property  are  ;  and  what 
the  lands,  the  edifices,  or  other  things  are,  the  owner- 
ship of  which  the  documents  convey  ?  What  would 
certificates  of  stock  be  worth,  if  the  persons  named 
in  them  as  the  owners  were  not  really  so,  but  only 
representatives  of  the  owners,  of  whose  names  no 


34  THE   AHTI-MILLENARIAN   TUEOST 

trace  appeared  In  the  certify  r  any  means  of 

rmining,  or  conjecturing  who  they  an 
Buch  a  principle  of  interpreting  and  oertifi- 

-.  and  other  simi- 
lar documents,  would  be  ly  Like  thai  on  which 
•  interpretei  spiritualization  of 
this  and  the  bther  proph 

In  the  fourth  place,  This  method  of  constructi 
renders  different  parts  of  the  Scriptures  contradi<  I 

tch  other,  and  involves  them  in  infinite  confusion 
and  uncertainty.     It'  uThe  Lord's  h< 
the  Christian  church,  it  plainly  does,  doI 
its  name,  hut  solely  by  virtue  <»t"  it- 1 

the    BtrUCture    at    Jerusalem   I 

ship.     But  ii'  it  staml<  for  the  church  Bimply  hy  vir- 

ing  what  it  i-.  his  temple  in  Jerusal 
then  it  is  clear  that  his  temple  there  in  j>;; 
must  for  tin-  same  reason  have  Btood  for,  ami  be 
representative  of  the  church.     It'  the  mere  fact  that 
the  structure  called  I       L  [rich  is  to  be 

bed  on  or  Dear  mount  Zion  in  the  last  day-,  is  to 
■  imple,  proves  that  it  Btands  lor  and  D 
this   prophecy    the   church  :   then    the   fact    that 
StmctUTi  5   lomon   near  that  mount. 

called  the  Lord's  house,  was  his  temple;  and  the  fact 
that  the  ted  by  Zerubbabel,  on  that  e 

and  enlarged  and  beautified  hy  Berod,  and  called  his 

mple,  proves  that  t! 
and  meant  the  church  in  all  the  ]  9  srip 

3  in  which  ti 


OF   INTERPRETATION   ERRONEOUS.  25 

the  catastrophes  that  are  predicted  of  them,  are  r<  - 
presentatived  of  catastrophes  that  were  or  are  to 

befall  the  Christian  church.  The  prophecies  of 
Jeremiah  and  the  other  prophets  of  the  destruction 
by  Nebuchadnezzar,  of  the  temple  erected  by  Solo- 
mon, are  prophecies  therefore  of  a  like  overthrow 
and  annihilation  of  the  church  ;  and  Christ's  predic- 
tion (Matt,  xxiv.,)  of  the  dissolution,  by  the  Romans, 
of  the  temple  erected  by  Herod,  so  that  not  one  stone 
should  remain  on  another,  is  a  prediction  of  a  like 
subversion  and  extinction  of  the  Christian  church. 
And  as  neither  Solomon's,  nor  Herod's  temple  is  ever 
to  be  rebuilt ;  not  a  particle  of  the  matter  indeed  of 
which  they  consisted  being  now  identifiable  by  man, 
it  follows  that  the  church,  after  the  annihilation 
which  their  destruction  represents,  is  never  again  to 
be  called  into  existence.  The  supposed  prophecy  in 
this  passage  that  all  the  nations  are  to  enter  the 
church  ;  and  the  express  prediction  (Eph.  iii.  21,) 

that  it  IS  to  Continue  elc  Tvuaag  rug  -yeveiig  tov  alQvog  tuv  ucuvuv, 

through  all  the  generations  of  the  age  of  ages,  are 
accordingly  directly  contradicted  and  convicted  of 
error !  Such  aro  the  issues  to  which  this  theory  of 
spiritdalization  leads. 

In  the  fifth  place,  It  empties  the  word  of  God  of 
;ill  certainty  of  meaning,  and  enables  the  interpre- 
ter to  erase  from  its  pages  any  truth,  and  insert  in 
its  place  any  error  he  pleases.  The  question  whether 
the  petsons,  places,  acts,  or  occurrences  expressed  in 

the  prophecies  are  to  be  regarded  simply  as  repre- 

2 


the  AHTI-KZLLDfASIAR  Tin: 

--•lit  ;nl  what    tli 

arc  w  hich  t!  to  be  decided  wholly  by 

fancy  or  caprice  of  the  interpreter.    The  nature 
of  the  spiritualizatioii  :  that  18,-04?  the  things  thai 

osidered  as  foreshown,  and  t!. 
which  it  is  to  be  carried,  are  at  his  arbitrament  en- 
tirely.    It  depends  on  no  principle,  it  is  regulafc 
no  law.    It  may  be  applied  to  om  r  predict] 

rly  as  another,  and  may  strike  from  as  tl 
ry  futurity  that  is  revealed  to  ua  in  the  • 
of  God.     If  Christ's  coming  in  person  in  tl. 
of  heaven,  receiving  the  dominion  of  the  earth, 
ding  on  mount  Zion  forever,  arc  to  be  spiritual- 
and  made  to  signify  only  what  is  called  a  i'_ 
ativc  coming  and  reigning, ♦. e^ a  positive 
ing  ami  iiol-reigning,  then  his  i 
the  dead,  the  reigning  of  the  risen  saints,  the  con- 

don  of  the  nations,  the  new  creation  of  the  earth 
and  air.  and  all  the  other  I  Vi  atfl  that   are   foreahown 

must  be  ;  and  the  frhole  revelation  that  is  made 
the  future  is  an  unmeaning  pageant,  a  mot 

■hows,   that   only  tantalize   and   d  :.t   OUT   faith 

and  hope. 

This   method  of   construction  by  which   they 
aside  the  purposes  God  I  !.  and  substitute 

othns  in  their  place,  i-  thus  altogether  ground] 
arbitrary,  and  subversive  of  the  truth.    If  attem] 
t<>  be  introduced  into  legislation,  jurisprudence.  <>r 
any  other  Bphere,  it  would  1 

.  to  truth  and  right,  and  would  consigD  it 


OP   INTERPRETATION   ERRONEOUS.  27 

catea  to  universal  scorn.  Yet  it  is  to  this  system 
entirely  that  Anti-millenarianfl  are  indebted  for  their 

belief  thai  their  theory  of  his  purposes  is  taught  in 
the  word  of  God.  Let  them  abandon  it,  and  interpret 
the  prophecies  by  their  proper  laws,  and  their  notions 
of  his  designs  will  vanish. 


tiik  mi: 


CHAPTBB    III. 

TnE    ram  EBPRBTAX1  BIGB    mili.f.nakians 

EED. — TnE   LAWS   or    nOURATTVl   LASC 

Ix  place  of  that  method  of  interpretation,  Mil! 
rians  hold  that  the  prop]  ike  other  parts  of  the 

Scriptures  are  to  be  interpreted  by  the  establie 
laws  of  the  media  or  instruments  through  which  they 
I.     If  they  are  language  prophecies,  like 
those  of  Isaiah,  Jeremiah,  Christ,  and  Paul,  they  are 
to  be  interpreted  by  the  usual  laws  of  langu  \ 
their  grammatical  is  their  true  and  onrj  It' 

they  are  Bymbolieal,  like  those  i  F  Daniel  and  John, 
they  ar»'  to  be  interpreted  by  t! 
representation  as  they  ai  in  the  inter- 

pretations that  are  given  by  the  Spirit  of  inspiration 
in  those  prophecies,  and  as  they  are  determinable 
from  analogy.    The  gnat  features  of  tl 
principles  and  laws  we  shall  give,  as  tl  pre- 

sented in  the  Theological  and  Literary  Journal,  and 

in  The  Char  nd  LaW8  irMive  L 

je.* 

*  T:  id  Bud  Laws  of  I1    N 

Lord,  fourth  edil 


OF   INTERPRETATION".  20 

The  language  prophecies  are  easily  distinguishable 
from  those  which  are  symbolical.  The  symbolical 
prophecies  were,  with  few  exceptions,  revealed  to  the 
prophets  in  dreams  or  visions,  in  which  the  symbols 
were  exhibited  to  the  eye  of  the  prophet.  Thus 
Daniel  and  John  saw  the  wild  beasts,  the  human  be- 
ings, the  angels,  and  other  agents  that  were  symbols 
through  which  the  revelations  made  to  them  were 
conveyed,  and  witnessed  the  actions  they  exerted,  or 
conditions  through  which  they  passed,  by  which  the 
actions  or  catastrophes  of  those  whom  they  repre- 
sent are  foreshown.  When  the  symbolic  agents  were 
not  exhibited  to  the  prophet  in  vision,  they  were  ac- 
tually present  to  him,  and  beheld  by  him  naturally  : 
as  were  the  implements  used  to  represent  the  siege 
of  Jerusalem  (Ezek.  iv.  1-3,)  and  the  sticks  repre- 
senting the  two  houses  of  Judah  and  Ephraim, 
xxxvii.  16-20.  The  symbolical  prophecies  beheld 
in  vision  accordingly  are  all  narrated  in  the  past 
tense.  And  had  Ezekiel  narrated  the  symbolical 
acts  he  was  directed  to  exert,  (chap.  iv.  v.  xxxvii..) 
after  he  had  exerted  them,  they  also  would  have  been 
related  in  the  past  tense.  The  language  prophecies 
on  the  contrary,  are  universally,  with  the  exception 
of  a  few  expressions,  in  the  future  tense  ;  as  the  pre- 
diction respecting  Abraham's  seed,  Genesis  xvii.  5-8  ; 
Chrisi  n  on  the  throne  of  David,  Isaiah  ix.  6, 7  ; 

the  restoration  of  the  Israelites,  Isaiah  lxvi.  10-:!^. 
Jeremiah  xxx.  xxxi  ;  the  conversion  of  the  nations 
and  cessation  of  wars,  Isaiah  ii.  2-4.     This  is  a  con- 


BO  tin:  mii.i.i:.\.\i:ia.\  m 

Bideration  oi  ff  fche  whole 

BJ  BteiD  Of  -pirituali/.atioii,  which  Ifl  QOthJ  I  han 

the  treatment  of  language  propheoiei  as  though  they 
were  symbolical. 

Of  the  language  propheoiei  also,  thai  which  is  lit- 
eral, is  easily  distinguishable  from  thai  which  is  figu- 
rative. No  passage  or  expression  is  figurative,  exoepl 
such  as  baa  i  specific  figure  in  it.  An  expression!  for 
example,  cannot  be  metaphorical,  onleaa  it  has  a  meta- 
phor in  it.  Jt  cannot  l»c  allegorical,  unless  it  us  part 
of  an  allegory.  It  cannot  be  substitutional,  or  repre- 
sentative of  one  act  or  condition  by  another,  ui 
there  is  a  hypocatastasis  in  it.    Tbia  ia  a  truth  of  the 

utmost  importance,  as  it  cuts  off  Q  large  class  of  inter- 
pretations Anti-millcnarians  put  upon  passages,  under 
the  pretext  thai  they  arc  figurative,  although  there 
ia  do  figure  in  them.    They  are  accustomed,  when  the 

jencies  of  their  theory  require  it,  to  treat  p 
ges  as  metaphorical  without  a  metaphor,  as  allegorical 
without  an  allegory,  and  aa  representative  or  substi- 
tutional, without  a  hypocatastasis. 

Those  prophecies  ami  expressions  thai  arc  without 
a  specific  figure,  are  to  be  interpreted  aa  fteral, 
their  grammatical  is  their  true  and  onl; 
prophecies  and  expressions  that  are  figurative,  are  t-> 
be  inter]. rete'l  according  t«>  the  nature  of  the  figures 
through  which  they  are  expressed,  and  their  gram- 
matical sense  when  BO  interpreted,  is  their   true  and 

only 

There  are  nine  figures  :   the  comparison,  thfi  lif 


OF    INTERPRETATION.  31 

phor,  the  metonymy,  the  synecdoche,  the  hyperbole, 
the  hypocatastasis,  the  apostrophe,  the  personifica- 
tion, and  the  allegory.     Kadi  of  these  has  a  nature  of 

its  own  that  distinguishes  it  from  the  others  and  from 
literal  language  ;  each  is  used  on  a  principle  peculiar 
to  itself;  ami  each  has  its  own  special  law;  and  the 
knowledge  of  their  laws  is  indispensable  to  the  just 
interpretation  of  the  predictions  that  are  conveyed 
through  them.  The  question  in  respect  to  the  mean- 
ing of  the  language  prophecies,  lies  almost  wholly  in 
the  question  what  portion  of  their  language  is  literal, 
and  what  portion  figurative  ;  what  the  figures  are 
that  exist  in  them;  and  what  the  principles  are  on 
which  their  figures  are  used,  and  the  laws  by  which 
they  are  to  be  interpreted.  When  the  figures  are 
identified  and  their  laws  known,  their  meaning  is  as 
easily  and  certainly  determined,  as  that  of  literal  lan- 
guage is. 

The  comparison  or  simile,  is  an  affirmation  that  one 
thing  is  like  another.  In  its  simplest  form  it  merely 
asserts  the  likeness ;  in  its  fullest  form,  the  particulars 
of  the  resemblance  are  stated.  The  law  of  this  figure 
is,  that  the  /(rimes  of  the  tilings  eomjxired  are  always 
used  in  their  literal  sense.  Otherwise  it  would  not  be 
known  what  the  things  are  that  are  compared  ;  and 
the  force,  beauty,  and  truth  indeed  of  the  comparison 
would  be  lost.  Thus  in  the  Saviour's  declaration 
that,  "  as  the  lightning  cometh  out  of  the  east  and 
shineth  even  unto  the  west  ;  so  shall  the  coming  of 
the  Son  of  Man  be,"  Matt.  xxiv.  27,  if  "  the  lightning" 


t  used  liten  !!;.  to  denol 
tog  from  of  which 

there  is  do  mention  in   the  b  bright 

thought  darting  through  the  mind-— there  can  1  e 
knowledge  what  it  is  to  which  the  coming  of  th( 
of  Bfi  m  is  compared.    And  in  Like  manner,  it'  ■ 
coming  of  the  Bon  of  M  I  am  d  literally  and 

denotes  his  personal  visible  coming  in  the  cloud 
hut  some  analogous  thing  of  which  th<  . 
no  mention  in  th  in  invisible  influ- 

ence of  the  Spirit,  or  an  ad  of  pi 
there  can  be  no  knowledge  whal 
it  is  declared  shall  be  like  the  flashing  of  the  Lightning 
in  t]  that  shii  -*.    And  this 

is  of  the  utmost  importance  i 

demonstrates  that  predictions  are  literal  which  Anti- 
millenarians  affirm  to  be  figurative.    For  examp] 
the  prediction,  [saiah  xxxv.  1,  "The  wilderm 
the  solitary  place  shall  be  glad,  and  I 

ouns  wilder:  litary 

place  and  desert,  are  held  by  Anti-millenari..: 

figurative,  and  to  denote  nun,  or  the  church  ;  and  the 
verb  blossom  to  be  figurative  ah  oify  that 

the  church  i-  to  flourish.    .Hut  \]  •:  the 

JOming  el'  the  desert  and   the    bloS80ming   of 

r  Confutes  that  notion,  and  -hows  th; 

Boming  of  th(  real  ;  becan 

like  the  blossoming  of  t 

that  is  t"  bloSSOm  like  l:  J  ftlso  :    and   the 

liction  therefore  is  a  literal  j 


OF   INTERPRETATION.  33 

version  of  the  literal  desert,  the  waste,  and  the  wil- 
derness, into  scenes  of  verdure,  bloom,  and  beauty. 
There  is  a  great  number  of  passages  in  which  this 
figure  in  like  manner  confutes  the  tropical  or  spirit- 
ualized-construction  put  on  them  by  Anti-millenari- 
ans,  and  proves  them  to  be  literal. 

The  metaphor  is  an  affirmation  that  an  agent,  object, 
or  act,  is  that  which  it  merely  resembles  ;  as  when 
God  is  called  a  tower,  Zion  a  crown,  and  the  rapid 
movement  of  a  vessel  before  the  wind,  flying.  The 
peculiarities  of  the  figure  thus  are  :  1.  That  it 
ascribes  to  that  to  which  it  is  applied,  something  that 
is  not  literally  true  of  it,  but  which  it  only  in  some 
relation  resembles.  2.  The  figure  lies  entirely  in  the 
affirmative  part  of  the  proposition  in  which  it  occurs. 
The  words  tower,  crown,  and  flies,  are  the  only  words 
that  are  used  by  the  figure  in  the  expressions — God  is 
a  tower,  Zion  is  a  crown,  the  ship  flies.  The  nouns 
God,  Zion,  and  ship,  of  which  the  affirmations  are 
made,  are  used  literally.  If  they  were  not,  there 
would  be  no  means  of  knowing  what  it  is  of  which 
the  affirmation  is  made.  And  this  law  of  the  figure 
is  of  the  greatest  practical  importance,  as  it  precludes 
a  multitude  of  constructions  put  by  Anti-millenarians 
on  i  on  the  assumption  that  the  name  of  the 

agent  or  object  to  which  the  figure  is  applied  is  used 
by  the  figure,  as  well  as  the  verb  or  noun  of  the 
affirmation.  For  example,  in  the  prediction,  Isaiah 
xxxv.  1,  ';  The  wilderness  and  the  solitary  place  shall 
be  glad,"  the  nouns  wilderness  and  solitary  place  arc 


TliK    MII.l.KN  \i:i  an    TO 

held  l>y  Anti-millenariani  to 

sentativt  U  as  the  verb  be  glad,  and 

for  human  beings  or  the  church,  instead  of  uncultured 

ami  desolate  regions  of  the  earth.    But  this  law  of 

the  metaphor  .-hows  thai  the  ii.irure  is  confined  to  the 

!  :   that  the  QOOne  which  are  it-  nomina- 

tiw.  are  need  in  their  literal  and  thai  the 

diction,  then  a  prediction  of  a  change  of  the 

wildc  nd  solitary  place  Gram  waste  and  d< 

tion,  to  a  verdure  and  bloom  thai  shall  cause  than  to 

mble  in  cheerfulness  and  beauty  the  human  i 
tenance  when  lighted  up  with  gladness.    There  is  not 
in  the  whole  sphere  of  Language,  a  truth  of  greater 

moment  than  this  :  that  in  the  metaphor  universally, 
the  nominative  or  nana'  of  the  agent  or  ol 
which  the  figurative  affirmation  is  made  is  used  in  its 
literal  -•  ad  that  the  agent  <>r  object,  is  the 

subject  of  that  which  is  asserted  in  the  figurative 
affirmation,  whatever  the  meaning  of  that  affirmation 
may  he. 

The  hypocatastasu  rabstitution  of  an  act  of 

one  kind  with  its  object  or  conditions,  lor  another,  in 

to  set  forth  and  ex- 
emplify with  —  that  which  tl 

tnte  is  used  t.»  represent  :  as  when  Enoch  i-  said  to 
u walked  with  God/1  as  though  it  were  in  a 

path,  to   Signify  that    he   acted   conformably  I 

will  :  or  lived  obediently  to  his  law.    This  figure, 

which   is   wholly  unnoticed   by  rhet*  nd   crit- 

with   the    comparison   and   nieta- 


of  ixti:i:pukt.\tion.  35 

phor,  is  of  very  frequent  occurrence  in  the  Scrip- 
tures. Thus  bearing  the  cross,  the  instrument  of 
crucifixion,  is  put  for  enduring  self-denial  :  "  watch- 
ing," that  is  keeping  awake,  unto  "all  prayer  and 
supplication,"  for  a  continual  realization  of  the  duty, 
and  a  continual  earnest  offering  of  prayer  ;  God's 
stretching  forth  his  hand,  is  put  for  his  exerting  his 
power  ;  and  his  hewing  down  the  forests  of  Lebanon 
with  a  stroke,  for  his  striking  down  the  army  of  Se- 
nacherih,  by  the  blast  of  the  pestilence.  It  is  of  very 
frequent  occurrence  also  in  common  speech,  as  wdien 
a  person  is  said  to  be  wading  in  deep  waters,  to  sig- 
nify that  he  is  pursuing  a  course  of  great  difficulties 
and  dangers  ;  and  that  he  has  anchored  his  bark  in 
a  well-sheltered  harbor,  to  denote  that  he  has  placed. 
his  affairs  in  a  state  in  which  they  are  secure  from 
disaster  and  disturbance.  The  principal  character- 
istics of  this  figure  are,  1.  That  its  nominative,  or  the 
name  of  the  agent  or  thing  of  which  the  affirmation 
is  made,  is  always  used  in  its  literal  sense  ;  and  that 
that  agent  or  thing  is  the  agent  or  subject  of  the  act 
or  effect  which  the  substituted  act  represents.  The 
person  who  is  said  to  be  wading  in  deep  wraters,  is 
the  person  who  is  involved  in  the  difficulties  which 
wading  is  employed  to  denote.  2.  The  figure  accord- 
ingly lies  wholly  in  the  affirmative  part  of  the  pro- 
position.  3.  It  consists  in  the  use  of  an  act  with  its 
object  or  condition,  not  of  words.  The  words  may 
all  be  used  in  their  literal  sense.  4.  The  acts  and 
conditions  ascribed  to  the  agent  accordingly  are  pro- 


Till:    MII.I.KXAKIAN     V  I 

per  to  his  nature.    5.  Hi 

by  the  lh  of  a  wholly  different  kind  from  1 1 

fpr  which  they  are  substituted  :  and  mblance 

thai  11  them  ifl  one  .-imply  of 

difficulty,  bh  or  weakness,  or  some  other  char- 

ri.-tic    of*   that    natur   .      ]         km>\\  l<  tliis 

figure  and  it-  Uw  -  ia  also  of  th 
importance,  as  it  furnishes  the  means  of  overturning 
a  lai ■_  of  the  constructions  by  which  Anti-mil- 

lenariana  s(  I  the  true  meaning  of  th< 

word. 

Tlius  it  confutes  the  pretext  that  the  predicti 
(Jeremiah  xxxiii.  15,  16,)  relates  to  the  Christian 
church.    ''In  those  .ml  at  that  time,  will  I 

cause  the  Branch  of  righteousness  to  grow  up  unto 

David  j   ami    he    shall   execute   judgment    and    r 
eousness  in  the  land.     In  those  days  .-hall  Judah  be 

Baved,  and  Jerusalem   shall  dwell    safely  ;   ami  this    is 

the  name  whereby  he  .-hall  be  called.  Th  L  :  1  our 
Righteousness."  lh  as  Anti-millenarians  hold,  the 
expi  "  Judah  shall  1  Jem 

shall  dwell  Bafely/1  were  representative,  which  I 
are  m.t,  it  could  only  be  in  the  affirmative  part  by  a 
hypocatastasis.    Let  us  then  Buppose  them  to 
used  by  thai  .  and  Judah  and  Jerusalem  the 

nominatives  of  the  affirmations,  will  still  be  used  in 

their  literal  and  the   figure  will   lie  wholly  in 

the  WOrds  M  I  :."  and    "  dwell    - 

whatever  those  words  denote,  Judah  and  ■  Jem 


OF   INTERPRETATION.  37 

will  be  the  subjects  of  them,  and  not  as  Anti-mil- 
lenarians contend,  the  Christian  church. 

The  allegory  is  the  use  of  agents,  objects,  acts,  him! 
events  of  one  class  or  sphere  to  represent  intelligent 
beings  and  their  acts  in  another  ;  as  in  the  allegory 
of  the  vine,  (Psalm  lxxx.,)  and  of  the  vineyard,  (Isaiah 
v.  1-7.)  The  peculiarities  of  this  figure  are,  1.  That 
agents  and  objects  in  one  sphere  are  used  to  repre- 
sent men  in  another.  2.  The  agency  of  the  descrip- 
tive part  is  always  represented  as  already  exerted, 
that  is,  the  narrative  is  in  the  past  tense,  never  in 
the  future.  3.  The  conditions  and  acts  ascribed  to 
the  representatives  are  always  in  accordance  with 
their  nature.  4.  It  is  always  attended  by  an  express 
intimation  who  the  persons  or  people  are  whom  it 
represents.  The  knowledge  of  these  criteria  is 
also  of  the  utmost  importance,  as  they  serve  to  show 
that  a  large  class  of  prophecies  that  are  treated  by 
Anti-millenarians  as  though  they  were  allegorical, 
have  no  trace  of  that  figure  in  them,  and  cannot  be 
interpreted  as  representative,  except  by  the  utter 
rejection  of  their  true,  and  ascription  to  them  of  a 
false  sense.  Thus  the  prophecies  of  Isaiah  lx.  lxii. 
Jeremiah  xxxi.  xxxii.  xxxiii.  Ezekiel  xxxiv.  xxxvi. 
and  man}'  others,  of  the  restoration  of  the  Israelites, 
which  Anti-millenarians  spiritualize  as  though  they 
were  representative,  and  therefore  allegorical,  aro 
shown  to  be  not  allegorical  by  the  simple  fact  that 
they  are  written  in  tho  future  and  predictive,  not  in 
the  historical  or  past  tense.     This  simple  test  reveals 


I  \j:ia\  y: 

tin'  error  of  their  inl 

which  they  would  erase  from  th<  i  volume  the 

.t  purp  sled  n  the  com- 

ing and  reign  of  Christ,  end  tb  option  of  the 

world. 

i'  >i  the  other  figures,  the  apostrophe,  the  metony- 
my, the  Byneodoche,  the  hyperbole,  and  the-  personi- 
fication, which  are  of  Lose  frequeni  occurn 
of  Lesi  importance  in  interpretation,  readeri 
ferred  to  the  author's  work  on  thi    l 
and  Laws  of  Figurative  L;  they  arc 

treated  at  Lai 

All  figurative  expn  in  the  prophets  are  thus 

distinguishable  with  the  utmost  certainty  and  i 
from  those  which  arc  literal  ;  the  principles  on 
which  the  several  figures  arc  used  make  their  mean- 
ing char  and  demonstrable  ;  and  they  cut  oft  the 
spiritualization  oi  the  predictions  to  which  Anti-mil- 
leneriansare  addicted,  as  absolutely  i 
geometry  preclude  false  pi  in  that  Bci< 

Of  the   certainty  and   BSSe   with  which  ti  guref 

are  distinguishable  from  literal  Lang 

proof  ib  given  in  the  expositions  in  the  Theological 

and    Literary  Journal  of  the   first   forty  chapters 

Isaiah,  in  which  all  their  -.  with  the  exception 

ibjy  of  here  and  there  one  through  inadvertej 
are  pointed  out.    That  these  are  their  Is 
have  demonstrated  in  a  greal  numl 
it  is  in  truth  as  indisputable 

[Uetry  are  the  law.-  of  that  .-rnnce.      ll  ifl  equally 


OP   IWTEfiPRETATION.  39 

indubitable  also  that  they  and  the  ordinary  princi- 
ples of  grammar  are  the  laws  by  which  the  Scrip- 
tuns  are  to  be  interpreted.    They  are  the  laws  by 

which  all  other  language  is  explained.  They  are 
the  only  principles  of  speech.  It  would  be  impossi- 
ble for  mankind  to  communicate  their  thoughts  to 
each  other  either  by  spoken  or  written  words,  if 
they  did  not  designate  the  agents,  objects,  and  ac- 
tions of  which  they  treat  by  their  literal  and  distinc- 
tive names.  Were  all  literal  names  of  persons,  ob- 
jects, places,  acts,  and  events  struck  out  of  a  history, 
and  their  places  supplied  by  pronominal  substitutes, 
as  he,  it,  they,  it  is  plain  that  it  would  be  impossible 
to  tell  who  the  persons,  what  the  places,  or  what  the 
actions  and  occurrences  are  to  which  it  relates.  Yet 
such  a  history  would  be  no  more  unintelligible  than 
the  prophecies  are,  if  as  Anti-millenarians  assume,  in 
regard  to  many  of  them,  the  persons,  places,  and 
events  named  in  them,  are  not  the  real  persons, 
places,  and  events  which  they  foreshow,  but  are  re- 
presentatives of  another  set  wdiich  fancy,  conjecture, 
or  assumption  is  to  supply. 

The  questions  between  Anti-millenarians  and  Mil- 
lenarians  respecting  the  revelations  made  in  the 
language  prophecies,  thus  lie  almost  wholly  in  the 
questions,  whether  those  prophecies  are  figurative 
or  not ;  whether  they  can  bo  figurative  without  hav- 
ing specific  figures  in  them  ;  whether  all  the  figures 
there  are  in  them  can  be  identified  ;  what  they  are,  and 
what  the  principles  are  on  which  they  are  employed, 
and  are  to  be  interpreted. 


•10 


THE    PRINCIPLES   OF    l.\  TIoX. 


OH  A  PTER   IV 


TUT.    PRINCIPLES    OF    INTERPRETATION  ;   THE   LAWS 

SYMBOLS. 


Some  of  ilio  revelations  Gk>c|  has  made  are  convey- 
ed through  symbols  in  place  of  language,  as  most  of 
those  of  Daniel,  and  .John,  and  a  part  of  those  of 
Ezekiel,  and  Zechariah.  The  peculiarity  of  a  sym- 
bolical prophecy  is,  that  it  is  made  through  repre- 
sentative agents,  object*  and  events,  on  the 
principle  usually  of  a  general,  Bometun  tact 
tnblance ;  that  is  the  representative  arc 
sometimes   taken  from   one   Bphere,  and   symlx 

agents  in   another  ;  as  the  1  del  acting  in 

their  proper  Bphere  in  the  animal  world,  an-  employ- 
ed i"  represent  men  in  the   civil  and   military  world. 

In  other  i  when  do  Buitable  Bymbol  of  another 

sphere  can  be  found,  Ww  agent  to  be  represented,  or 

of  his  kind  is  empL  I  be  Bymbol, 

There  are  Bomewhat  over  four  hundred  Byml 
employed  in  the  Old  and  New  Testament.    They  are 
of  different  orders,  i  s,  1.  Divine,  God  the  Father 
Ancient  of  days,  the  One  like     3        :  Mai  ,the  Lamb, 


THE   LAWS  OP   PROPHETrC   SYM  -1! 

the  Word.  '2.  Created  beings,  as  living  creatures, 
angels,  Satan,  men-,  Bpirits,who  are  intelligent ;  b< 
monster  animals,  fowls,  fish,  insects,  that  arc  unintel- 
ligent. 3.  Dead  bodies,  as  the  slain  witnesses.  4. 
Natural  unconscious  agents  or  objects,  as  the  earth, 
sun,  moon,  stars,  waters,  a  mountain,  fire.  5.  Arti- 
ficial objects,  as  an  image,  candlesticks,  a  sword, 
cities,  a  crown,  books,  linen.  6.  Acts,  effects,  char- 
acteristics, as  speaking,  flying,  fighting.  7.  And  times 
and  spaces,  as  days,  years,  furlongs,  length,  height. 

The  most  important  of  the  laws  of  symbols  are,  1. 
That  the  symbol  and  that  which  it  represents  resem- 
ble each  other  in  the  station  they  fill,  the  relations 
they  sustain,  and  the  agencies  they  exert  in  their  re- 
spective spheres;  that  is,  agents  represent  agents, 
not  acts  or  effects  ;  acts  represent  acts,  not  agents  ; 
effects  stand  for  effects,  and  conditions  for  conditions. 
Thus  the  wild  beasts  (of  Daniel  vii.,)  destroying  in- 
ferior animals,  symbolize  human  kings  conquering 
and  slaughtering  their  fellow  men.  This  law  is  of 
great  importance,  as  it  shows  the  interpreter  what 
he  is  to  find  in  order  to  a  counterpart  to  a  symbolic 
agent. with  its  objects,  acts,  and  effects;  and  cuts  off 
a  large  class  of  interpretations  in  which  expositors, 
disregarding  the  laws  of  analogy,  exhibit  agents  as 
symbolizing  acts  or  events  instead  of  agents,  and 
acts  and  effects  as  symbolizing  agents,  instead  of  ac- 
tions and  events. 

2.  The  representative  and  that  which  it  represents 
are  of  different  species,  kinds,  or  ranks,  in  all  cases 


\:  Tin: 

wli.  ■  mbol  ia  of  such  a  nature,  d  in 

such  a  relation  that  it  cm  properly  Bymboliie  some- 
thing different  from  itself.    Tin 
moment,  as  it  shows  tin-  interpreter  to  it  be 
look  for  the  agent  thai  is  symbolised  in  a  different 
sphere  from  that  of  the  Bymbol,  when  an  analog 

can  be  (band  ;  and  calf  oil*  I  r  into  which 

many  hare  fallen,  that  warriors  must  of  con 

bolize   warriors,  and   earthquakes   and   other  COmmO- 
tionfl  in  the   natural  worM,  convulsions   and 

like  themse] 
:'».  When  the  agents  and  event 

are  of  a  nature,  or  arc  to   appear  in  conditions,  that 

.  mbol  of  a  different  order  can  properly  reprt 
them,  tl.  lt  in  th<  their  <>wn  sym- 

boL    Thnsai  at  can  properly  symbol- 

God  the  Father,  or  Christ,  they  appear  in  the 

visions   to   foreshow  their  actual    |  in   the 

scenes    which     the    visioi  [  \        ielit 

of  «lavs  appeared  in  the  vision,  Daniel  vii.  y-14,  of 
the  destruction  of  the  fourth  beast,  and  the  ini 

of  the  Son  of  Man  with  the  dominion  of  the 
earth  :  and  the  Sou  of  Man  appeared  in  person  in 

the  vision  of  his  investiture  with  the  dominion  of  the 
earth,  Dan.  vii.  1:)    1  \  ;   and  the  Word  of  God   in  the 

:i  of  his  coming  to  ;t  battle        1 1    1  Al- 

mighty, Rev.  xi.\.  11  2]  :  to  w  that  he  if 

-  m  in  the  clouds  of  he:t\ 

when  tl:  fulfilled.     sf<  :.  lik< 

ir  in  many  of  t  □  in 


TIIK    LAWS  OF  TROPIIETIC  SYMBOLS.  \'\ 

the  same  spheres  and  relations,  because  no  other  sym- 
bol could  serve  to  represent  them  in  those conditi 

Such  are  "  the  kings  of  the  earth,  and  the  great  men, 
and  the  rich  men,  and  the  chief  captains,  and  the 

mighty  men,  and  every  bond-man,  and  every  free- 
man, who  hid  themselves  in  the  dens  and  in  the 
mcks  of  the  mountains,  and  said  to  the  mountains 
and  rocks,  Fall  on  us,  and  hide  us  from  the  face  of 
him  that  sitteth  on  the  throne  and  from  the  wrath 
of  the  Lamb  ;  for  the  great  day  of  his  wrath  has 
come,  and  who  shall  be  able  to  stand."  Rev.  vi.  15- 
17.  No  inanimate  or  brute  symbol  could  represent 
the  terror  of  men  at  the  visible  presence  and  impend- 
ing wrath  of  the  Lamb,  which  is  here  foreshown  ;  as 
none  but  human  beings  in  those  conditions  are  capa- 
ble of  feeling  and  uttering  affections  of  that  kind. 
To  foreshow,  therefore,  that  men  are  to  see  the  Lamb 
in  the  clouds  of  heaven,  are  to  know  that  he  has  come 
to  inflict  wrath  on  his  enemies,  and  are  to  be  over- 
whelmed with  terror  at  the  sight,  and  fly  to  the  dens 
and  caves  of  the  mountains  to  escape  from  his  pre- 
sence, it  was  necessary  that  they  should  be  exhibited 
in  their  own  persons  in  the  vision.  And  so  of  the 
witnesses  in  their  slaughter,  and  resurrection,  Rev. 
xi.  :>-l:>  :  the  resurrection  and  reigning  of  the  holy 
dead,  xx.  4-6  ;  and  the  resurrection  and  judgment 
of  the  rest  of  the  dead.  Rev.  xx.  11-15. 

4.  When  the  symbol  and  that  which  it  represents 
differ  from  each  other,  the  correspondence  between 
them  extends  to  their  chief  parts,  and  the  general 


1 1  the  rn:  nranfetAfl 

■ 

]»arts  in  that  whh  h  i 

w  bicb  the  tempest  of  M  in  and  fir 

ing  i  Lintrv,  i] 

.-third  of  t!  g  the 

•■  itfa  disorder  and  desolation,  1  to 

!>  .  T  to  i      Etonian 

in  power,  rapidity,  and  r 

-  and  destructivenese,  what  that  I 

the  natural  WOrl  R  Inch  it 

ibolicaJ  agent  must  I  b  in  the  sphere 

which  it  filled 

ing,  and  tractive  of  life  and  pro] 

whirlwi  vrhichth 

ily  would  Bymfo 
■ 

full;  themselves  :  but  there  would 

o  means  of  determinin 
bich  tin 
of  the  Bymbol  to  that  which  it  repr 

to  a   single   particular, 
obje< 

1  millions  of  oti  re  would  be 

no  mean  hich,  on! 

multitude,  is  the  one  the  Bymbol  rej 
t.  for  exam] 

that    it    Lfi  V, 

gyml  it  which  it  d 

would  be  as  much  - 


THE   LAWS  OF  PROPHKTie  SYMBOLS.  L5 

agent  BymbofiflM  ;l^  :my  ofner.     This  law  is  thna  of 
great  importance, and  it  preclude  I  number  of 

constructions  which  interpreters  have  pnt  on  Bym- 

1m. Is,  on  the  assumption  that  resemblance  in  a  single 
particular  is  all  that  symbolizatiou  involves. 

5.  A  single  agent  in  many  instances  symbolizes  a 
combination  and  a  succession  of  agents ;  as  the  wild 

its  of  Daniel  and  the  Apocalypse.  Times,  also, 
such  as  days,  months,  and  years,  represent  combina- 
tions of  days,  and  successions  of  months  and  years. 

6.  The  names  of  symbols  are  their  literal  and  pro- 
per uam 

These  laws  are  deduced  from  the  interpretations 
ymbols  that  are  given  by  the  Spirit  of  Inspiration 
in  the  prophecies  themselves  ;  and  that  fact,  their 
conformity  to  the  principles  of  analogy,  and  the  con- 
tit  solutions  to  which  they  lead  of  the  symbols 
that  are  not  interpreted  by  the  Spirit,  amply  estab- 
lish this  truth.  The  interpretations  given  by  the 
Spirit,  amount  to  about  one  hundred  and  fifty,  and 
include  at  least  one  of  each  class  of  symbols,  and 
many  of  the  most  important  of  the  leading  classes  ; 
and  they  are  all  in  accordance  with  and  exemplifica- 
tions of  these  laws.  No  higher  proof  can  be  asked  of 
their  truth,  and  adequacy  to  the  interpretation  of 
36  parts  oi  the  symbolic  prophecies  that  are  yet 
to  be  fulfilled.  They  equally  also  with  the  laws  of 
literal  and  figurative  language,  cut  off  the  spirituali- 
zation  of  the  predictions  of  Christ's  coming,  and  the 
resurrection  of  the  holy  dead  at  the  commencement 


•l«i  Tin:  PRIJI  [OH. 

of  the  millennium  ; 

coming  in  the  clouds,  Daniel  \ii.  l:;.  l  }.  m  he  bimeelf 
>li«.w  a,  Matt.  \w  i. ».  1.  ;tn<l  hie  coming  with  ti 
ofh<         .  U   ..  \i\.  11  21, symbolise  hie  literal  com- 
t  the  time  to  which  thoee  vision  i  the 

irreotiOD  <»1*  the  holy  dead  in  the 

1  6,  symbolises  their  real  resurrection  at  the  |- 
bich  that  vision  refers. 
These  brief  statements  w  ill  enable  tin-  r 
what  the  distinguishing  principles  are  on  which  the 
symbolic  prophe  interpreted,  and 

manner  in  which  they  demoi  that  Chri 

come  in  person  at  th  d  of  the  ]>«  - 

noted  by  the  wild  beast  and  his  armi  the  holy 

dead,  and  enter  OD  a  literal  reigD  OD  the  earth.     T 

who  full  exhibition  of  the  snbj  erred 

to  the  Theological  and  Literary  Journ  .  tally 

vol.  i.  ]>j».  177    256  :   vol.  iii.  I  :   VoL  vii.   177 

217,  886   H  h  57(  ad  the  Premim 

by  the  Rev.  B.  VYinthrop. 


PECULIARITIES  OF  THE  TIME  OF  CHRIST^  REIGN.      47 


CHAPTER  V. 

THE  REDEMPTION  OF  THE  WORLD  IS  NOT  TO  TAKE  PLACE  UNDER  TOE 
PRESENT  DISPENSATION.  INSTEAD,  IT  IS  A  PERIOD  OF  TRIAL;  OF 
MIXED  KX< TTEMENTa  TO  EVIL  AND  GOOD,  UNDER  WHICH  MEN  ABE 
LEFT  TO  ACT  OUT  THEIR  HEARTS  AND  SHOW  THAT  THEY  ARE  WHAT 
GOD  IN  THE  WORK  OF  SALVATION  CONTEMPLATES  THEM. 

It  is  held  by  those  who  deny  Christ's  personal 
reign  on  the  earth,  that  the  conversion  of  the  nations 
and  prevalence  of  righteousness  and  peace  foretold 
by  the  prophets,  are  to  take  place  under  the  present 
dispensation,  and  through  the  agencies  and  instru- 
mentalities that  are  now  employed  for  the  communi- 
cation of  the  gospel  to  men,  and  their  deliverance 
from  the  thraldom  of  sin.  That  belief,  however,  is 
not  only  without  authority  from  the  sacred  word,  but 
is  against  its  express  and  ample  teachings,  and  be- 
speaks a  mistaken  notion  both  of  what  the  condition 
and  character  of  mankind  are  to  be  during  the  period 
to  which  those  prophecies  refer,  and  what  the  pecu- 
liar office  is  of  the  present  dispensation. 

What  i<  it  then  that  is  specially  to  distinguish  the 
period  of  Christ'fl  triumphant  kingdom  on  the  earth? 


i  culiaril 

n  «.\  er  it,  and  I  •  with  him  of  the  i 

and  .  ■  ied  by  I 

who  maintain  that  be   U  D  Only    by    i n ll n •  I 

of  the  Spirit  and  by  1.. ■■■•  h     '1 

however,  other  characteristics  of  the  period  thai 
Bean  .  cilable  -with  ti  All 

the  nations  are  to  .  L    All 

individuals  are  to  be  ri  .21. 

earth  is  to  be  full  of  the  knowli 
the  wato  ,  Eaaiah  u.  9.     1 

.     Mankind  are  to  be  wholly 

i  un- 
in,  nor  I 
war  any  more,  Isaiah  ii.  1  ;  lx.  IT.  lv.     T 
be  no  persecutors,  no  cruel  oppn 
and  enslaving  tyrant-;  do  unjust  1.  nnprinci- 

pled  judges,  no  corrupt  courts 
prisons  crowded  with  victim  i; 
held  in  bondage.    .Mankind  arc  t<>  l  itely 

from  all  the  corrupting  and  d  dominai 

and  innuences  by  which  they  are  now  held  ii 
.  il  men  and  evil  principle  s.    Satan, 

mind,  and  exerts  hia  malignant 
i  r  t"  delude  and  tempi  to  sin,  is  th<  i  im- 

pria  !   intercept 

which  he  rules  in  tb<  of  men. 

to  destruction.    All  I  ats  of  1 1 

also  brought  on  the  race  by  the  tall,  arc  | 


I 


(II  UUCTER  OF  THE  PRESENT  DlSPENt  \Tlo\.  49 

moved.    There  is  to  be  do  more   i  ting  and 

blighting  toil  ;  do  more  physical  suffering;;  do  i 
sorrow;    do   more   tears;    do   more   death,    Those 
dreadful  ingredients  which  now  fill  each  op 
and  make  the  world  a  vale  of  grief  and  i  .  will 

be  unknown,  and  the  world  bo  raised  through  tho 
work  of  Christ  to  much  siu-h  an  exemption  from 
evil  in  all  its  forms,  as  would  fori  ver  have  pre- 
vailed, had  our  first  parents  not  tr.  ed,  Rev. 
xxi.  3-7,  21-27  ;  xxii.  1-6.  And  finally,  the  Spirit 
of  God  will  be  poured  out  on  the  hearts  of  man- 
kind universally  with  a  fullness  and  power  of 
which  but  faint  exemplifications  have  hitherto  1 
seen.  That  such  a  complete  change  in  the  condition 
of  the  world  ;  such  an  exemption  of  the  whole  human 
family  from  the  infinite  evils  which  revolt  has  drawn 
in  its  train,  and  the  universal  and  unmitigated  reign 
of  which  is  one  of  the  most  conspicuous  features  of 
the  present  economy,  should  nevertheless  take  place 
under  this  very  system  which  admits  and  perpetuates 
them,  is  clearly  impossible.  The  present  dispensa- 
tion docs  not  contemplate  Buch  a  deliverance  of  the 
race  as  the  effect  of  its  .  .  It  docs  not  make 
any  provision  for  it.  It  does  not  employ  any  means 
for  the  production  in  its  completeness  of  any  one  of  the 
changes  that  are  to  be  wrought  in  order  to  that  re- 
demption. Thus,  it  docs  not  carry  the  gospel  effec- 
tually to  all  nations  and  individuals.  It  does  not  re- 
move all  ignorance.     It  all  evil 

iion.-.     It  dors  not  imbue  men  universally  with 
3 


( hai:  H  TER  OF  THE  PRESENT  D  I  KW. 

uli  other.     It  'l 
church,  as  a  body,  to  perfect  bolii 
true  children:  bul  they  are  lefl  to  a  war  with  their 
own  evil  affections,  with  s  crowd  of  temptei 
their  fellow  men,  and  with  the  great  seducer  to  ei  il. 
False  teachers  and  artful  and  deluding  apost 
do!  intercepted  from  spreading  their  deadly  err 
tyrants,  remorseless  opp  and  bloody  warriors 

arc  not  prevented  from  wreaking  their  cruel  | 
onthehelple        E  tan  is  not  arrested  in  his  malignant 
plots,  and  n  forts  to 'drag  men  to  destruction. 

And  no  means  are  provided  to  put  an  end  to  death. 
sickness,  suffering,  toil,  wan:  To  suppose 

these  and  other  effects  which  are  to  push  the 

era  of  Christ's  reign,  to  take  place  under  the  pn 
dispensation,  is  therefore  in  fact,  to  Buppoee  tin 
pensatfon  itself  to  be  reversed  i   and  become  i 
gether  a  new  one. 

Bui  apart  from  such  of  these  chai 
wrought  by  the  direct  act  of  Omnipotence,  not  by 
physical  instruments, or  moral  means:  such  as  the 

banishment  of  Satan  and  his  Legions,  and  th( 

Of  death.  >iekness.  pain,  toil,  and  sorrow,  it  : 

Bible  that    the    renovation   and   sanct ilieatioli    of  men 

universally  should  take  place  under  the  present  dis- 
pensation, from  the  consideration  thai  it  is  not  its 

aim.    Tl  *  and  peculiar  aim  ^i'  the  pn 

ministration  is, on  the  one  hand.  \i^  display  th< 

the  power,  and   the  iitv  of   God    in  the  work 

Sving,   and    '  men  :   and   on    the    othei 


CHARACTER   OF  Till-:   PRESENT    DISPENSATION.       51 

hand,  to  subject  men  to  trials  thai  cause  them,  whe- 
ther evil  01  good,  to  Bhow  forth  their  true  character-. 

It  Is  pre-eminently  a  dispensation  of  tests,  of  trials, 

in  all  the  forms  which  cur  nature  admits  from  want, 
dependence,  Buffering,  the  actioD  and  re-action  on 

individuals  and  bodies  of  men  of  the  good  and  evil 
passions  and  principles  of  the  heart,  false  doctrines, 

idolatrous  worships,  unjust  laws,  evil  examples,  and 
finally,  tin4  ceaseless,  subtle,  and  powerful  agency  of 
Satan  and  his  hosts.  It  is  a  dispensation  under  which 
good  and  evil  co-exist,  display  their  characters  in 
Contrast  with  each  other,  maintain  a  tierce  struggle, 
and  show  their  natural  fruits  in  all  the  forms  they 
can  assume  under  such  conflicting  influences.  Chris- 
tianity does  not  exist  alone  in  the  world.  It  dwells 
in  the  midst  of  rival  religions,  the  inventions  of 
Satan  and  men  who  are  his  co-operators  ;  and  their 
impious  errors,  their  debasing  principles,  and  all 
their  vast  array  of  deluding  pomps  and  cheating  pre- 
texts are  allowed  to  exert  their  power  on  men  as 
fully  as  the  doctrine  of  Christ  exerts  itself  to  coun- 
teract, disenthrall,  and  transform  them.  The  church 
of  Christ  does  not  stand  alone  as  an  organized  body 
striving  to  draw  other  men  to  itself,  to  make  them 
partakers  of  its  faith,  and  sharers  in  its  hopes.  It  is 
surrounded  on  every  hand  by  antagonist  organiza- 
tions with  their  hierarchies  of  priests  and  teachers, 
their  system-  of  doctrines,  rites,  and  worship,  and 
their  agents  of  propagandism,  each  endeavoring  to 
extend  its  swav,  or  at  least  to  maintain  its  dominion 


mi:  n:i>i;\T  disi-lnsation 


bom  it  has  already  draw n  t.»  il 

a  kingdom  in  the  WOl  I  11  as 

Chi  intic 

powers  in  maintaining  it;  in  drawing  to  hi-  Bide 

crowds  of  rvil  men  ;  in  making  human 
ments  bis  instruments  ;  and  in  rendering  Learning, 
art,  and  wealth  subservient  to  hi  d  he  has 

carried    his  conquests   into   the   church  and 

drawn  its  greal  hierarchies  of  the  ad  the  W 

t<>  tlic  most  effic  they  could  i 

his  behalf,  by  intermixing  the  worship  of  idols 
demons  with  the  worship  of  God,  and  Bubstitutii 
mock  sacrifice  and  atonement  intheplaa 
Of  the  \a-t  population  of  the  g]  I  iani- 

tteen  centuries,  prei  n  nominally, 

with  only  perhaps  forty  or  fifty  millions,  and  of  those 
not  probably  over  one  or  two  millions  can  Be  regard- 
ed as  true  children  of  God.     Evil  is  now  as  predomi- 
nant as  it  was  fifteen  centuri  Bp  a 
hold  on  the  human  mind  j  itentei                    into  the 
institutions  of  society  ;  it  has  as  numerous  and  : 
erful  engines  at  work  in  sustaining  and  extending 
swav.  relatively  to  the  evangelical  church, 
mer  periods;  and  it  dei              powerful  aid  for  the 
spread  and  propagation  of  its  empire,  as  pure  Chris- 
tianil             from  the  improvements  of  t!              ithe 
methods  of  communicating  knoi             through  the 

1   the   union   of  numbers    in    the   ]•: 
and  disseminal  i 

The   result  of  this  administration,  in    which  the 


ONE   OF  TRIAL. 

pel  and  its  converts  are  id  this  manner  Left  to 
maintain  a  Btroggle  against  opposing  h<  real 

power,  Bnbtlety;  and  zeal,  thus  necessarily  is,  whai 
the  experiment  of  eighteen  hundred  years  has  shown 
— the  full  test  and  exhibition  of  the  opposite  princi- 
ples and  affections  oi  the  two  parties — not  the'  abso- 
lute victory  of  either.  The  true  disciples  of  Ghrisl 
have  indeed  through  a  Large  part  of  the  long  conflict 
been  confined  to  a  small  number,  compelled  to  fly 
from  the  presence  of  their  enemies  and  hide  them- 
selves in  solitude,  and  would  at  many  junctures,  have 
been  swept  from  the  earth, had  it  not  been  for  God's 
extraordinary  care.  The  issue  of  this  vast  trial  is — 
not  the  redemption  of  the  world,  but  only  the  proof 
and  exemplification  of  its  alienation,  and  hopeless 

3  dage  to  evil — not  the  triumph  of  the  gospel  in 
the  extermination  of  false  religions  ;  but  its  rejection 
for  fifteen  or  Bixteen  centuries  by  nearly  the  whole 
church,  as  well  as  the  world,  and  substitution  in  its 
place  of  idol  and  creature  worship,  and  the  degrada- 
tion of  the  nations  that  hear  the  Christian  name,  to 
the  lowest  depths  of  ignorance,  debasement,  and  mis- 
ery. The  very  nature  of  the  present  administration 
thus  wholly  precludes  both  the  genera]  conversion  of 
the  nations,  and  the  elevation  of  those  who  are  renewed 
to  the  lofty  purity  and  happiness  that  are  to  prevail 
in  Christ's  victorious  reign.  It  is  as  contradictory  to 
it  to  expect  that  all  mankind  are  to  be  renewed  and 
sanetified  under  if,  as  it  would  be  to  expect  that  in  a 
contest  between  vast  hostile  ho>ts  armed  with  all  the 


6  I  THE    PB1 

I     itli.  DOT  ii'T  injuries 

would  be  inflicted  ;  or  i bat   when  all  ti, 

nd  death  are  present  in  th<  ities 

carried  by  the  wind  ry  hamlel  and  dwell- 

:  will  take  place,  but  health  prevail. 
Aj  the  destructive  elements  most  be  removed  from 
the  Boil  and  air,  in  order  that  d  inay  be  pre- 

vented, and  a  fresh  and  vigorous  health  be  universal- 
ly enjoyed  ;  bo  the  powerful  i  and  influ< 
which  men  are  held  in  the  \  mnst  be 
removed,  and  the  all  transforming  power  of  the  Holy 
Spiril           onob8trncted  possession  of  their  h< 
in  order  that  they  may  be  turned  to  right 
and  peace. 

But  the  removal  of  tne  powerful  i  which 

they  arc  now  subjected  ;  the  discontinuance  of  the 

trials  by  which  they  are  led  to  act  out  their  princi- 

and  show  what   their  dispositi  toward 

is  incoi  with  the  very  end  for  which  he 

instituted    and   maintains    this    administration.      II:- 
aini   Is  not  now  to   sanctify  all  :   but    to  cause   all    to 

show  what  their  hearts  are,  whether  sanctified,  or 

unsanctilied  :    in   the    same   manner   as  in  conducting 

from  Egypt  to  Canaan,  it  wae  not  his 

aim  '  ity  them  all.  and  free  them  from  excite- 

ments to  evil  :  but  instead,  to  test  their  dispositions 
toward  him,  and  cause  them  to  Bhow  whether  they 

••  Thou  shah  remei 

all  the  way  which  the  Lord  thy  God  hd  ill 

forty  years  in  the  wildei  humble  thee,  and  to 


ONE   OF   TRIAL.  55 

prove  thee,  to  know  what  was  in  thine  heart,  whe- 
ther thou  wouldst  keep  his  commandments,  or  ao  ; 
and  he  humbled  thee  and  Buffered  thee  to  hm 
and  fed  thee  with  manna,  which  thou  knewest  Dot, 
neither  did  thy  fathers  know,  that  he  might  make 
thee  know  that  man  doth  not  live  by  bread  only,  but 
by  every  word  that  proceedeth  out  of  the  mouth  of 
the  Lord  doth  man  live,"  Deut.  viii.  2,  3.     In  like 
manner  we  are  assured  by  Christ  that  "  the  hour  of 
temptation  shall  come,"  under  the  present  economy, 
'•  upon  all  the  world,  to  try  them  that  dwell  upon  the 
earth,"  Rev.  iii.  10.     They  were  all  to  be  placed  in 
conditions  in  which  they  would  show  by  decisive  acts, 
whether  they  chose  his  service  or  not ;  and  the  issue 
has  been  at  every  stage  of  the  trial  a  demonstration 
that  the  multitude  will  not  have  him  to  reign  over 
them  ;  but  pursue  the  broadway  of  sin  which  leads 
to  destruction  ;  while  only  here  and  there  one  finds 
the  narrow  way  to  life.     All  the  churches  planted  by 
the  apostles  soon  declined  in  love,  became  distracted 
by  parties,  were  led  by  heretical  teachers  into  false 
doctrines,  and  went  on  from  one  degree  of  corrup- 
tion and  apostacy  to  another,  till  they  were  swept 
from  existence  in  a  great  measure  by  persecution, 
and  the  sword  of  the  Goths,  Saracens,  and  the  Turks. 
The  churches  of  Western  Europe,  most  of  which 
were  formed  after  the  death  of  Paul,  soon  sunk  into 
an  equal  depth  of  ignorance,  error,  and  superstition, 
and  after  the  lapse  of  more  than  a  thousand  years, 
were  but  partially  recalled  to  the  knowledge  and  love 


56 

of  the  truth  >rmation.    ]  □  and 

irmed  churches  on  the  continent  h  i  in  a 

bized  from  th<    <         bian  faith 
to  pantheism   and  other   false   phi)  :    the 

Eindoofl   and    Q 
world.   The  churches  of  Gr<  in  and  tl 

re  rapidly  plunging  into  similar  errors,  whili 
nations  of  Airic     I  and  i be  .   the 

Southern  and  Pacific  main  almost  undistu 

in  li,  of  false  reli  The  hi 

and  apostacy  of  nations  which  have 
riod  embraced  Christianity,  and  exemplified  its 
powerful  influence  in  their  live 
of  individual  churchi  >ns  of  revival  ar< 

followed  by  seasons  ofap<  1  world- 

liness.     Periods  distinguished  b;  bhful 

followed  by  periods  in  which  sedu< 

from    the   truth   arise,  and   strike   the   chnreh   with  a 
blight  and  decay  thai  often  continue  for  a  series  of 

ed  for  the  piety  of  its  churches,  the  purity  of  their 
faith,  and  their  steadfastness  in  the  truth,  lias 
later  period  ae  of  unbelief,  worldli- 

All  individuals  also,  a-  well 
communities,  are  placed  in  conditions 
of  their  lives,  in  which  they  are  Led  to  display 
true  character  of  their  affe<  I         and 

show  whether  they  are  lit.  or  unfit,  for  bis  kingdom. 
And  the  result  of  this  experiment  is,  the 
tion  «>n  a  vast  and  appalling  Bcale  of  the  inter  india- 


ONE  OF  TRIAL.  57 

position  of  men  spontaneously  to  return  to  God,  and 

the  hopelessness  of  their  redemption  unless  it  ho 
under  an  administration  in  which  the  great  agents 
that  dow  tempi  them  to  evil, shall  be  precluded  from 
exerting  on  them  their  deluding  and  maddening  pow- 
er, and  the  Spirit  of  God  takes  exclusive  and  absolute 
possession  of  their  hearts. 

And  this  system  of  trial  and  discipline  in  which  the 
evil  and  the  good-  are  thus  tested  and  made  to  disclose 
themselves,  is  to  continue  till  Christ  comes.  lie  ex- 
pressly  told  his  disciples,  that  their  life  was  to  be  one 
of  disquiet,  persecution  and  suffering.  "Behold  the 
hour  cometh  that  ye  shall  be  scattered  every  man  to 
his  own,  and  shall  leave  me  alone.  In  the  world  ye 
shall  have  tribulation."  John  xvi.  32,  33.  Paul  also 
exhorted  the  believers  at  Antioch  to  continue  in  the 
faith,  because  "we  must  through  much  tribulation 
enter  into  the  kingdom  of  God."  Acts  xiv.  22.  lie 
reminded  the  Thessalonians  also,  "that  no  man  should 
be  moved  by  these  afflictions" — to  which  he  and  his 
fellow  laborers  were  subjected  by  their  enemies, — 
"  for  you  yourselves  know  that  we  are  appointed 
thereunto.  For  verily  when  we  were  with  you,  we 
told  you  before  that  we  should  suffer  tribulation,  oven 
■  came  to  pass,  and  ye  know.''  1  Thess.  iii.  3,  4. 
It  was  as  much  a  part  of  the  scheme  of  God's  provi- 
dence that  they  should  be  opposed  by  hostile  Jews 
and  Gentiles,  maligned,  threatened,  imprisoned,  per- 
secuted, and  subjected  to  the  most  violent  and  i, 

minions  inflictions  :  as  ir  was  that  they  should  preach 

3* 


Tin:  i 


■  1.  and  gatfa  to  whom  tli<-  irord  was 

made  efficacious  by  the  Spirit  into  ohu 
the  office  of  this  tribulation  was  to  purify  their  li< 
to  bring  them  to  tin-  most  m  I  subjection  of 

themselVi         G  od,  and  to  canae  them  to  show  their 
faith,  love,  and  devotedness  to  him  in  the  moel  indu- 
bitable and  emphatic  forma.    "We  glory  in  tribula- 
tions, knowing  thai  tribulation  worketfa  patience,  and 
patience  experience,  and  experience  hope,  and  1 
maketh  no1  ashamed,  because  the  l"1.         i 
abroad  in  our  hearts  by  the  Holy  Ghost  which  is  given 
to  ii-.*'  Bom.  v.  3-5,  and  James  i.  2   1.    And  thii 
cipline  of  trial  and  Buffering  is  extended  without 
ception  to  all  God's  children,  of  every  i 
rank,  and  of  every  condition  of  life.     '  .M 
not  thou  tlu'  chastening  of  the  Lord,  nor  faint  * 
thou  art  rebuked  of  him  ;  for  whom  the  Lord  loveth 
he  chasteneth,  and  scourgeth  every  son  whom  h< 
ceiv<  i!i.     [fye  endure  chastening,  G  leth  with 

you  as  with  sons  ■  for  what  son  is  la'  whom  the  Father 

steneth  not  ?     Bu1  if  i  ithout  chas 

— whereqfdR  an  pariah  rs — then  are 
not  sons.     Furthermore,  we  have  had  Bathers  of  our 
i  which  corrected  us,  and  v.  them  rover- 

;  Bhall  we  not  rather  be  in  subjection  unto  the 
Father  of  Bpirita  and  In  i  ?     I'  ir  th<  j    \  i  rilj    I 

3  chastened  us  after  their  own  p]  :  but 

he  for  our  profit,  thai  we  might  be  |  f  bis 

holini  is.     Now  no  chastening  for  the]  seemeth 

to  be  joyous,  bill  b  j  nevert]  I 


ONE   OF   TRIAL.  59 

it  yieldeth  the  peaceable  fruit  of  righteousness  unto 
them  who  are  exercised  thereby."  Ileb.  xii.  5-11. — 
Subjection   to  calamities  and  sorrows,  and  correction 

by  suffering,  are  thus  exhibited  as  the  lot  of  God's  chil- 
dren under  the  present  dispensation,  as  much  as  tho 
gift  to  them  of  the  Spirit,  the  teachings  of  the  word, 
the  supports  of  tho  promises,  the  protection  of  provi- 
dence, and  life  itself  are  ;  and  they  are  represented 
as  an  indispensable  means  to  bring  them  to  a  proper 
subjection  to  him,  and  cause  them  to  yield  the  fruits 
of  righteousness,  which  are  requisite  to  their  prepa- 
ration for  his  eternal  kingdom.  And  these  tribula- 
tions are  to  continue  through  every  period  of  the 
present  dispensation.  It  is  foretold  by  Christ  that 
the  Israelites  shall  fall  by  the  edge  of  the  sword,  and 
shall  be  led  away  captive  into  all  nations,  and  Jeru- 
salem shall  be  trodden  down  of  the  Gentiles,  until  the 
times  of  the  Gentiles — the  period  of  the  fourth  Gen- 
tile kingdom,  Dan.  vii.  7-28— shall  bo  fulfilled."  Luke 
xxi.  24.  And  that  "  immediately  after  the  tribulation 
of  those  days"  "  shall  appear  the  sign  of  the  Son  of 
Man  in  heaven,  and  then  shall  all  tho  tribes  of  tho 
earth  see  the  Son  of  Man  coming  in  the  clouds  of 
heaven  with  power  and  great  glory."  Matthew  xxi  v. 
29,  30. 

It  is  foreshown  also  that  all  the  great  obstacles  to 
the  conversion  of  men  that  lie  out  of  themselves,  all 
the  occasions  of  temptation,  all  the  powerful  agencies 
by  which  they  are  prompted  to  evil,  are  to  continuo 
till  Christ  comes.     Thus  want,  toil,  pain,  sorrow  and 


60  THE 

i  continue  ai  w  do,  till 

xxi.  1    5.      I  ii  of  the  na- 

that 
till  he  comes,  the  evil  are  to  continue  into 
with  thi  '.  at  the  first  promulgation 

of  the  gospel,  and  have  been  ; 

••  Be  that  soweth  the  [  1  \b  1 1  i « -  Son  of 

Man  :  the  field  is  the  world  :  the 
children  of  the  kingdom:  but  th  chil- 

dren of  the  wicked  oi    ,     T  emy  thai  them 

is  the  devil.    The  harvesl  is  crwr        -  tl  •■  end 

of  the  age,  and  the  reapers  ar 

the  tares  are  gathered  and  burned  in  the  fir 
shall  it  1  I  of  the  i 

The  Son  of  Man  shall  send  forth  his  angi 
shall   gather  out   of   his    kingdom   all    thai 

-all  that  seduce,  and  prompt  to  sin — 
I  all  that  do  iniquity  ;        !  c     I  them  in1 

furna  shing 

of  teeth.     Then  shall  the  righteous  shine 
sun  in  the  kingdom  of  th<  ir  Father."  Matt.  xiii. 

I  thus  fori  in  this  i 

ami  impressive  form  th 

children  of  the  wicked  ami  children  of  the 

kingdom  ;  and  th  tpter 

p  Bubordinal  etray 

men  into  sin,  are  uot  to  be  r  I  be  world 

till  the  end  of  this  e      ;   that   the  chil 

.  ill.  till  that  time,  continue  intermixed  with 


ONE   OF   TRIALS;  '  61 

the  children  of  God  ;  that  Christ  is  then  to  gome,  and 
canse  his  angels  to  separate  the  evil  from  the  good  ; 
and  that  thenceforth  the  righteous  are  to  shine  as  the 

sun  in  the  kingdom  of  their  Father.  Matt.  xxiv.  'M . 
Not  only,  therefore,  is  there  to  be  no  general  conver- 
sion of  the  nations  before  the  end  of  this  age,  but 
there  is  to  be  no  exemption  of  them  till  that  epoch, 
from  the  tempting  presence  of  the  great  seducer,  nor 
any  deliverance  of  the  children  of  the  kingdom  from 
the  presence  of  the  children  of  the  wicked  one.  The 
te  powers  of  the  chnrch  also,  denoted  by 
the  eleventh  horn  of  the  fourth  beast.  Dan.  vii.,  and 
the  Man  of  Sin,  '2  Thess.  ii.  3-8,  are  to  continue  in 
activity  down  to  the  time  of  Christ's  advent.  It  is 
not  till  the  Son  of  Man  comes  in  the  clouds  of  heaven 
and  receives  from  the  Ancient  of  days  the  sceptre  of 
the  world  that  all  nations  may  serve  him,  that  that 
horn  is  to  be  judged,  and  given  to  the  burning  flame. 
It  is  at  the  brightness  of  Christ's  coming,  not  at  any 
earlier  epoch,  that  the  Man  of  Sin  is  to  bo  consumed 
by  the  spirit  of  his  mouth.  Instead  of  gradually  los- 
ing their  power  and  sinking  into  lethargy  as  they 
approach  their  end,  they  are  in  their  ]  s  to 

wreak  their  vengeance  on  the  true  worshippers,  in  a 
bloody  persecution.  The  slaying  of  the  witnesses  by 
the  beast,  is  immediately  to  precede,  the  seventh 
trumpet,  under  which  it  is  to  be  cast  into  the  lab 
lire.  Rev.  xix.  20.  The  woman  of  Babylon  is  to  be 
drunk  witli  the  Mood  of  the  when  seated  on 

the  beast  in  the  form  in  which  it  is  to  go  to  perdition. 


tin-: 


E&  i .  w  ii.  :;  6.    Th(  preclude,  tl 

.  the  supposition  that  the  world  in  to  1 
during  the  Bway  of  those  hostile  powers.  They  arc 
traction,  noi  to  salvation.  Their  armies 
are  to  be  Blain  and  given  to  the  fowls  of  heaven  ;  noi 
converted  into  worshippers  who  are  to  walk  in  the 
light  of  the  New  Jerusalem,  and  bring  their  honor 
and  glory  into  it. 
This  dispensation  is  thus  to  continue  to  i1 

to  1 ne  of  trials,  noi  of  reel  :  of  conflicts  with 

powers  of  evil,  not  of  exemption  from  them. 


Tin:  aim  of  tiii:  present  economy.  63 


CHAPTER    VI. 

TIIE  AIM  OF  TOE  PRESENT  ECONOMY  IS  TO  PREPARE  TOE  WAY  FOR 
ANOTHER  DISPENSATION  UNDER  WHICH  SALVATION  IS  TO  BE  EX- 
TENDED TO  ALL  NATIONS  AND  TOE  WORLD  REDEEMED. 

WHAT  then  are  the  remoter  ends  which  this  dis- 
pensation contemplates  ?  If  only  a  few  compared  to 
the  vast  multitudes  of  the  race  are  to  be  saved  under  it ; 
if  its  chief  aim  is  to  try  the  hearts  of  men,  both  evil 
and  good,  show  forth  their  character,  and  verify  the 
great  facts  of  the  alienation  and  incorrigibleness  on 
the  one  hand  of  the  unrenewed  ;  and  of  the  love,  sub- 
mission, and  faith  of  the  renovated  on  the  other,  on 
which  God  proceeds  in  the  work  of  redemption — 
what  are  the  ends  which  that  verification  on  so  vast 
a  scale  is  to  subserve  ?  What  bearing  has  it  on  the 
salvation  of  the  race  under  a  future  dispensation? — 
What  office  is  it  to  fill  in  God's  administration  over 
his  vast  empire  of  worlds  ? 

These  are  questions  which  those  who  hold  that 
there  is  to  be  no  redemptive  dispensation  after  the 
present,  seem  not  to  have  asked.  The  present  econ- 
omy in  relation  to  the  future,  is  to  them  an  inexplica- 


T11K    i 


'I 

i  fill  toward  the  human  ra 
(t  can  b  a  prepar  anothei 

11  Qnder  which  I  shall 

be  removed,  and  redemption  to  all  the  liv- 

ing population  of  the  globe  through  an  Interminable 
round  of  A  to  their  views  th< 

son  why,  if  it  is  the  d  God  I  sal- 

vation to  tin-  nations  at  large,  the  gospel  i 
made  known  to  them  universally  immediately  after 

Lrst  promulgation.    That  such  count] 
left  to  perish,  th<  -  the  work  i 

t  y  :  I  G  i  to  mak<  than 

a  small  number  pari 

»rs  to  display  his  just  than  hi^ 

and  hold  thai  if  this  e<  ay  influe 

on  his  administration  of  the  universe  in  fun; 
it  is  to  be  by  the  preponderance  which  his  justice  in 
punishing  men  has,  and  is  to  hai  y  in 

Baving  them.     \  hem,  therefore,  I 

which  i  rnmenl  pn  -  Full  of  dark- 

and  awfulneas,  and  answers  in  no  respect  to 

delineation  he  h  in  his  word  of  hi 

nor  of  the  infinite  riches  of  the  wisdom  and  the  love 
which  the  Bible  every  where  rep 
in  tl,  of  Christ,  and  to  be  unfolded  and  veri- 

rarate  with  the  grandeur  of 
his  being  and  empi 

loving  the  world  th  I 

hat  whosoever  1  >uld 


rs    PREPARATIVE    TO    ANOTHER.  65 

imt  perish,  but  have  everlasting  life,"  ends  in  hie  leav- 
ing nearly  the  whole  that  come  into  existence  to 
perish  withoul  their  even  hearing  thai  Christ  was  to 
die  <>r  has  died, for  them.  Sis  goodness,  his  love, 
his  mercifulness  which  are  exhibited  as  his  whole 
character,  and  as  armed  with  infinite  wisdom  and 
power  to  accomplish  their  desires  toward  men,  in- 
1  iA'  achieving  or  purposing  their  salvation  on  a 
Bcale  proportionate  to  his  attributes,  and  the  gr 
-  and  wonderfnlness  of  the  provision  made  f 
in  Christ's  incarnation  and  death,  are  satisfied  in  a 
chiei  with  making  that  display  of  themse]  i 

and  with  the  exception  of  a  small  election,  the  count- 
less crowds  of  the  human  family  are  left  to  perish  as 
helplessly,  as  they  would  had  no  method  of  salvation 
been  devised  for  them. 

But  these  notions  arc  altogether  groundless,  and 
he-peak  an  astonishing  misconception  of  God,  and 
the  teachings  of  his  word.  Tho  Scriptures  declare 
in  the  most  ample  and  emphatic  manner,  as  we  have 
shown,  that  the  present  dispensation  is  to  termi- 
nate at  the  fall  of  the  fourth  kingdom  symbolized, 
Dan.  vii.  7-27,  and  is  to  be  followed  by  another 
under  Christ3  nal  reign,  in  which  the  work  of 

onption  is  to  he  extended  to  all  people,  natio 
and  tongues,  and  is  to  continue  through  eternal  ages ; 
and  they  indicate  that  the  present  economy  is  pre- 
paratory to  that,  and  that  the  exhibitions  and  verifi- 
cations that  take  place  in  it  of  the  great  truths  of 
God's  rights,  of  man's  alienation,  and  of  tho  indubi- 


Tin:  !•!:: 

tabl<  .  of  ili"-<-  v. bon    I 

children,  edful  t«»  the  jusi  understanding  by 

men  themselves  and  the  nnii  work  of  sal- 

vation, the  vindication  of  God  in  it.  and  ascription  t<» 
him  of  tin'  infinite  m,  and  love, 

which  it  displays.    Thai  it  i  y  to  the 

pensation  thai  is  t<>  follow,  is  apparent  fin 
perfections.     It  would  be  to  impeach  his  wisdom  to 
suppose  thai  it  occupies  no  Buch  pi 
that  which  i-  t'»  Bncoeed  it  ;  that  that  dispensation 
mighl  as  well  have  been  introduo         ( 
-ion  :  ami  that  the  conflicts  of  so  1 
the  perishing  of  so  many  generations  of  tin*  tmchris- 
tianized  nations,  the  ape*  minal church, 

ami  the  trial  sufferings,  and  bu 

people  have  been  without  any  obje<  -  the 

Bnbseqneni  government  of  tin-  world  u 

of  God  make  it  certain  that  it  has 
ends,  in  his  future  purj  ward  tl.  thai 

commensurate    in   their  importance,  with 
•  the  sins  and  .  thai  t;:' 

ander  the  pr<  my. 

What    then   an-   those    end-?      How    i>    it   tliat    tin? 

great,  the  awful,  and  the  glorious  truths  that  an 
forth  ami  exemplified  in  such  various  forms  ami  on 
so  immei  do,  under  the  pr< 

prepare  tin-  way  for  a  new  dispensation  onder which 
the  work  of  redemption  i-  t>>  It  extended  to  all  the 
nations  of  the  earth,  ami  continued  through  unen  I 
years?    The  an  .  by  verifying   the 


IS    PREPARATIVE    TO    ANOTHER.  61 

which  God  proceeds  in  the  salvation  of  men  bo  ade- 
quately, as  i"  enable  the  universe  to  discern  and  feel 
them  in  all  their  certainty  and  greatness,  and  make  it 
sun*  that  without  any  further  exemplification  of  them, 
the  salvation  of  mankind  in  the  past,  the  present,  and 
all  future  ages, will  be  justly  understood,  and  the  glory 
given  to  God  for  it  that  is  due  to  his  wisdom,  rccti- 
tude,  and  grace. 

It  is  plain  that  the  exereise  of  grace  by  God  to- 
ward revolters  from  his  government,  the  restoration 
of  sinners  to  holiness,  their  forgiveness,  their  justifi- 
cation, their  adoption  as  children  and  exaltation  to 
the  most  intimate  relations  to  himself  and  the  Re- 
mer,  must  be  measures  of  the  utmost  interest  to 
other  orders  of  intelligences,  and  must  give  rise  to  a 
variety  of  questions  of  the  greatest  moment  to  God's 
glory  and  their  peace.  Are  mankind  so  utterly  alien 
and  lost  as  the  work  of  redemption  assumes  and  re- 
presents?  Is  there  no  disposition  left  in  them  spon- 
taneously to  return  to  allegiance  to  God  ?  Are  those 
whom  God  renews  and  forgives  truly  reconciled  to 
him?  Arc  they  indisputably  his  friends,  and  ready 
submit  to  any  evil  rather  than  disown  him,  and 
again  join  the  ranks  of  the  unsanctified  ?  Is  their 
renovation  and  sanctification  indubitably  the  work 
of  his  Spirit?  not  of  natural  affections.  Have  they 
given  in  their  conduct  such  evidences  of  their  resto- 
ration to  holiness  that  the  universe  can  see  that  God 
is  justified  in  treating  them  as  unalterably  his  chil- 
dren, and   raising  them   to   exalted    stations   in  his 


TIIK  ITIiiN 


king  ation  to* 

them  Bach,  thai  tln-y  who  fully 

comprehend  all  ita  w ith  th< 

conviction  thai  it   ia  marked  b} 

which  ! 
Iii-  perfections,  and  Buited  b 

jecta  to  a  higher  rap- 

turoufl  devotion  t<»  hia  Bervii  biona 

of  the  u tin*  tores 

in  every  pari  <>t*  hia  kingdom,  and  qui 
mual  be  furnished  with  the  mosl  ample  :'  an- 

ing  in  the  affirmative — in  order  to  their  continu- 
ed confidence  and  love  of  him  as  all-perfect,  and  wor* 
thy  of  the  full  and  fixed  homage  and  submission  which 
To  !•  ave  them  without  information, 
would  be  to  make  it  impossible  thai  they  should* 
prehend  his  ways ;  to  leave  them  to  perplexity 
doubt,  and  to  expose  them  to  the  dai  faltering 

in  their  all<  li   is  indubitably  the  pari 

righteoB  J,  therefore,   that    I 

should  make  them  acquainted  with  the  reality  of  all 
the  greal  facts  on  which  he  proceeds  in  the  wort 
salvation  by  bo  arranging  his  providence  thai  men 

a  public,  visible,  and  full  exemplification  of 

them  in  their  conduct,  in  every  v;ui  adition, 

and  under  every  form  of  influence  that  can  serve  to 

rion  ami  demonstration  to  the  truth. — 

crowds  of  nan  deny  thai   they  are  in  r< 

G  any  need  of  a  Saviour.     Multi- 

v  and  reality        I  'a  in- 


D9   PBEPAB  LTIVB  TO    ANOTHEB.  ♦ . ' » 

carnation,  and  rejed  salvation  throngh  him.  Great 
numbers  deny  that  there  is  any  nn  d  of  a  renovation 
of  the  heart  ;  or  thai  it  is,  or  can  be  wrought  by  the 
Spirit  of  God,  and  maintain  that  men  are  entitled  to 
acceptance  on  the  ground  of  their  merits.  They 
deny  also  that  God  has  a  righl  to  punish  men  for 
their  sins  ;  and  declare  it  to  bo  impossible  that  ho 
should  consign  his  creatures  for  their  offences  here, 
I.,  everlasting  punishment  hereafter.  Satan  also 
utters  these  and  similar  denials,  and  impeaches 
God's  justice,  wisdom,  and  benevolence  in  all  his 
measures    both    in   the   punishment,   and    in    the    lor- 

of  men.  I;  i-  not  improbable  that  t! 
denials  are  known  to  all  the  intelligent  hosts  <»}' 
God's  empire,  and  that  a  special  necessity  arises  from 
that  tor  the  confutation  of  them  in  his  administra- 
tion over  the  world.  In  order,  indeed,  that  the  work 
of  redemption  should  be. understood,  it  seems  indis- 
pensable that  sin  should  be  seen  in  all  the  forms  it 
naturally  assumes  in  beings  like  men  ;  that  there 
should  be  a  full  exemplification  on  the  one  hand  of 
the  alienation,  debasement,  and  misery  to  which  it 
reduces  those  in  whom  it  reigns  :  and  that  there 
should  be  a  full  exhibition  also,  on  the  other,  of  the 
reality  of  the  restoration  to  holiness  of  those  whom 
God  renews,  pardons,  and  crowns  with  life  and  glory, 
and  proof  by  ti.  sts  of  their  unalterable 

allegiance, and  i  -  forthe  intimate  relatioi  - 

himself  to  which  he  i-  to  exalt  them  in  his  kingdom. 
But  suppose  Adam  and  Eve  and  all  their  posterity 


70  THK    PUN 

mmedial  r  their 

raid  the  uni 
selv<  what   :  into 

which  revolt  naturally  brings  creatures?     Sow  could 
they  have  di  lized  what  r 

abandoned  I  3  tan  ; 

t<»  b  the  unmitigated  dominion  of  Belfiah  and 

malignant  affections?    There  could  then  h 
no  exemplification  to  thi  of  what 

man  is  as  ■  i  ;  nor  what  the  brutish  ;m<l  fiend- 

ish shapes  are  which  selfish]  mity,  and  m 

assume.    Suppose  all  immediately  on  regeneral 
had  from  all  I  their  afl 

how,  though  they  committed  .  would  it  appear 

that  it  v. 

Bow  could  there  be  anj  their  in- 

flexible attachment  t«»  <;..d?     11  old  then 

any  demonstration  that  they  wei  the  inti- 

mate relationship  t<>  him  t<»  which  thev  are  I 
alted  ?     <>r  it'  there  >w  could  it  that 

their  obediei  -  taneons  work  of  their 

own  minds,  instead  of  the  fruits  of  ti  i  and 

.  Spirit  '!    There  is  then  a  manifest  n< 
sity,  in  order  that  the  work  of  redemption  should  be 
understood  in  its  true  chars  that 

there  Bhould  1m-  such  a  manifestation  in  all  it 

taking  place  m 
of  what  man's  I  what  hifl  condition  i-  as  a 

-inner  -  what    the    ehan  I     in 


is    PREPARATIVE   TO    ANOTHER.  71 

the  redeemed,  and  who  it  la  who  accomplishes  that 

dial .. 

It  is  dear  also  that  in  an  administration  under 
which  snch  a  manifestation  of  the  heart  of  man  takes 
place,  it  is  requisite  that  God  Bhould  exhibit  his  dis- 
pleasure at  sin.  by  leaving  it  to  bring  forth  its  natu- 
ral fruits  of  blindness,  insensibility,  and  misery  ;  and 
should  punish  it  by  retributive  inflictions.  To  allow 
it  to  pass  unchastised,  would  be  to  treat  it  as  though 
it  we  it  not  the  object  of  disapprobation ;  to  connect 
with  it  the  blessings  which  are  the  proper  fruits  of 
holiness,  would  be  to  reward  it  as  though  it  were  ap- 
proved, and  lead  the  universe  to  false  views  of  his 
dispositions  and  purposes  respecting  it. 

The  necessity  then  of  Buch  an  exemplication  of 
man  and  of  God  is  apparent  ;  and  it  is  taking  place 
under  the  present  administration  on  such  a  scale  as 
to  answer  the  ends  of  the  divine  government,  and  su- 
persede a  need  of  its  continuance  in  the  ages  that  are 
to  come. 

1.  Thus,  all  nations,  all  bodies  of  men,  all  families, 
and  all  individuals,  are  put  by  the  conditions  in  which 
they  are  placed,  and  the  influences  to  which  they  are 
subjected,  to  a  continual  and  severe  trial  of  their 
affections  toward  God,  and  one  another,  and  led  to 
show  what  their  hearts  are.  That  this  is  a  fact,  all 
are  aware  from  consciousness,  observation,  and  his- 
tory, and  it  is  expressly  taught  in  the  Scriptui 
Dent.  viii.  '_!.  3  :   Rev.  iii.  10  ;  James  i.  12-15. 

2.  When  nations  and  individual-  apostatize  from 


.  them  to  th  of  their 

,rkout  I 

fhiitti  of  in 

thai  [method  confute 

i;    .  ".  - 

forbidden  worship,! 
them  dominion  of  their  fal  i«n- 

andallo?  them 

ofute  th 
the  wick  *hich  tl 

0f  the  Man  of  Sin  utafterthe  workii  -         with 

all,  andlyinf  !  with  all 

truth, 
that  they  might  be  I  for  thi 

shall  Bend  them  Btrong  delusion,  that  they  ma; 

thai  they  all  maj 

0  truth,  but  have  pleasure  in  unri 

.     a  T     --■  ii.  9  12. 
Henotonly  trieshistro 
calamiti  3  °f  ^bul  he  Mows 

their  enemi  ^  them  to  the 

which  they  ran  be  subjected,  by  inflicting  on  them 
the  most  cruel  torture,and 

ifpoBgible.toforcethemtoi  [millions 

have  Burrendered  their  property,  their  liberty,  their 

rather  than  Bwerve  from 
to  him. 


IS    PREPARATIVE   TO    ANOTHER.  7)i 

5.  IIo  testifies  against  the  sins  of  men,  whatever 
their  character  may  be,  by  judgments]  and  gives  tin- 

universe  to  see  the  abhorrence  with  which  he  regards 
them.  Thus  the  destruction  of  the  antediluvian 
world  and  of  all  the  ancient  nations,  was  because  of 
their  sins.  All  the  evils  that  have  been  inflicted  on 
the  Israelites  for  three  thousand  years,  have  been  in 
retribution  of  their  rebellion  against  him,  their  revolt 
to  idols,  and  their  rejection  of  the  Messiah.  And  all 
the  immeasurable  evils  with  which  the  nations  of  Eu- 
rope have  been  smitten  during  the  last  twenty  years, 
and  all  they  are  yet  to  Buffer  in  the  last  stages  of  the 
present  dispensation,  are  represented  in  the  Apoca- 
lypse as  poured  from  the  vials  of  God's  wrath. 

6.  He  gives  his  children  indubitable  tokens  of  his 
favor,  hears  their  prayers,  grants  them  his  Spirit,  veri- 
fies his  promises,  supports  them  in  their  trials,  and 
makes  death  itself,  in  its  most  awful  forms,  for  his 
sake  a  victory. 

Under  this  administration — which  stretches  from 
the  fall  to  Christ's  second  coming — an  exemplification 
and  proof  of  the  great  truths  respecting  God's  rights, 
man's  ruin,  and  the  restoration  to  holiness  of  the  re- 
aed,  are  thus  made  on  a  scale  as  vast  as  the  exi- 
gencies of  the  divine  government  require,  so  that  no 
necessity  will  exist  of  their  being  carried  further,  but 
salvation  may  then  I  aded  to  all  nations  and 

individuals,  through  the  lv>air  period  denoted  by  the 
millennium  without  any  danger  of  its  being  misap- 
prehended by  any  pari  of  God's  kingdom. 


7  1 


OH  A  PT  E  B    VII. 

TBS     M  IB    THAT     1:  :•■    THE 

THIS 

.ion,  i;a\  : 

The  ezhibitionci  thai  1. 
of  men,  both  evil  and  good,  hav<  I  and  va- 

rious al  every  period  <'i"  their  history  dowi 
-it  time. 
Thus,  we  are  told,  that  in  t<  bat  immediately 

followed  the  tall,  '*  the  wicl 

t  in  tlic  earth, and  that  every  imagination  ol 
thoughts  of  his  hearl  was  only  evil  continnally  :  that 

Looked  upon  the  earth  and  behold  it 
rupl  :  for  all  flesh  ha-!  corrupted  his  way  upon 
earth,  and  the  earth  was  filled  with  viol 

vi.  5,  11.  1_\      Whether  the  evil  imaginations 
the  thoughts  <«t"  their  hearts  embraced  tin-  invention 
and  worship  of  t  I  Id  : 

hnt  the  irruption  of  their  manners,  and  the 

violence  with  which  they  filled  the  world,  which 
the  usual  consequences  of  a  rejection  of  ( 
it  probable.    The  whole  race  advanced  t-  such  a 


AIM:    MADE    I'NDER   THIS    D  ISP  EN  8  \Ti<  75 

pitch  of  wickedness,  thai  divine  justice  required  that 
they  Bhould  be  swept  to  destruction  by  a  delug   . 
This  aniversa]  ;■  rroin  God,  this  ez  indi- 

vidual and  social  corruption  and  malevolence,  formed 
a  terrible  exhibition  of  what  the  human  heart  i~.  in 
its  estrangement  from  the  Most  Bigh.  They  were 
not  left  in  the  ignorance  of  the  Pagan  nations  of  the 
present  age.  They  did  not  derive  their  false  system 
of  religion  and  morals  from  a  long  line  of  ancestors. 
Their  wickedness  was  not  instilled  into  them  by  igno- 
rant parents,  or  an  established  priesthood,  and  en- 
forced by  a  powerful  civil  government,  under  the  de- 
ceitful garb  ot'a  divine  religion,  h  was  all  origin 
and  matured  by  themselves,  and  amidst  the  clear 
light  of  a  divine  revelation,  and  the  powerful  re- 
straints of  a  knowledge  of  its  guilt,  solemn  warnings 
from  heaven,  and  the  pious  remonstrances  and  holy 
examples  of  patriarchs  and  prophets.  God  revealed 
himself  openly  to  men  in  those  ages,  as  we  learn  from 
his  appearances  to  Adam,  Cain,  Enoch,  and  Noah,  and 
announce^  his  will  to  them  in  an  audible  voice. — 
They  were  made  acquainted  with  the  scheme  of  re- 
demption, and  required  to  offer  -  -  in  expres- 
sion of  their  faith  in  the  Messiah  whom  the  slaugh- 
tered victims  typified.  They  enjoyed  the  presence, 
com:  !  I  samples  of  Adam,  through  more  than 
half  of  the  period  to  the  flood  ;  and  the  instructions, 
probably,  of  a  great  array  of  eminent  prophets  down 
to  their  last  years.  Noah  himself  tilled  the  office  of 
a  preacher  of  righteousness  for  at  leasl  a  hundred  and 


76    i 

twenty  red   thu 

amidst   all   I  minent   advanta  I    all 

Bank  universal 

v.  iili  th(  S    ali  and  hifl  family — 

ich  an  al  irruption  ;  they  I  inflamed, 

through  all  t  ich  vile  ai  oant 

render  the  divine  fori  any 

i  make  it 

atial  to  the  vindi 
thai  i  m  on  them  hifl  vei 

:  instantaneously  to  perditi  •  .     Wl    t  an 
amazing  proof  of  their  alienation]    Whatanempl 
and  terrible  (ration,  that  th< 

and  onmitigated  revolt!     1!  r  must  it  have 

to  tlif   wil  oniverse,  thai   thi 

well  enet  God    rid  the  r 

of  redemption  contemplate  them  ;  and  thai  the  d 
with  which  they  were  overwhelmed  was  t; 

Equal  proofs  were  given  by  the 
Noah  within  a  brief  period,  of  their  alienation 
debac  .    I   "e  that  patriarch  died — three  hundred 

and  lift>  singe, — every  nation 

tribe  into  which  the 

»E  to  beli  -hip. 

There   were    individuals    and    families,   in  I 
Abram,  Melchisedek,  Job,  and  hifl  friends,  who  re- 
tained the  knowi 
true  Gk>d,  and  they  may  have  been  nunu 

r  on  the  sacred  page,  thai  hole 


ARE   MADE   UNDER   THIS   DISPENSATION.  77 

people  continued  to  be  worshippers  of  Jehovah.  Tho 
first  uninspired  histories  also,  and  the  earliest  monu- 
ments of  the  ancient  inhabitants  of  Egypt,  Assyria, 
and  India,  exhibit  them  as  idolaters.  Notatrac< 
pears  in  any  of  their  religions,  at  tho  earliest  dato  to 
which  our  information  extends,  of  a  recognition  of 
the  true  God.  This  is  certainly  astonishing  ;  as  not 
only  Noah  lived  till  after  that  time,  but  Shcm  survived 
one  hundred  and  fifty  years  longer,  to  the  time  of  Ja- 
cob. So  that  very  ample  means  must  have  been  pos- 
d  of  a  knowledge  of  Jehovah,  and  the  method  of 
redemption  ho  had  made  known  to  Adam,  and  re- 
newed and  confirmed  to  the  holy  patriarchs  and  pro- 
phets through  all  the  long  tract  of  ages  that  had  in- 
tervened, to  the  division  at  Babel  of  the  race  into 
separate  tribes.  Whence  can  such  a  universal  apos- 
tasy from  Jehovah  have  sprung,  except  from  an  utter 
alienation  of  heart  from  him  ?  How  could  they  have 
turned  from  him  to  the  besotted  homage  of  creatures, 
idols,  and  mere  imaginary  deities,  had  there  not  been 
an  absolute  extinction  in  their  minds  of  righteous- 
ness, truth  and  wisdom  ;  had  they  not  yielded  them- 
selves to  the  unrestricted  domination  of  the  powers 
of  darkness. 

Tho  principal  ancient  nations  of  central  and  west- 
ern Asia,  northern  Africa,  ami  eastern  Europe,  con- 
sisted of  two  classes  :  one  that  was  under  the  domi- 
nation of  absolute  monarchs  and  a  legalized  priest- 
hood, who  dictated  to  their  subjects  the  religion  they 
should   exercise.     The   governments   of   the   other 


78     i " 

from  the  peopL 

ii  was  a  _ly  the  i 

in  a  lai  1 1 1 i in*  nt 

lie  ruler-  and  pi  I  be  des] 

w  ho  dictated  th  ion  of  tl 

moDg  t .  I  of 

their  age,  if  they  had  had  any  proper  n  J<  - 

hovah,  and  disposition  to  favor  tl  of  a  true 

religion,  they  mighl  hai  ted  a  powerfbJ  influ- 

in  repressing  ignorant  stition,  and  idol- 

worahip,  and  prompting  their  Bubj< 
ti.-n  of  the  true  God.     Bat  □  of  thai  land 

•  made  by  them.    Instead,  the  monan  .  jypt, 

ria,  Babylonia,  and  I  .1  their  ; 

their  whole  infln  in  and  spread  their 

eral  systems  of  idolatry .     In  I  where  the  belief 

in  the  immortality  of  the  soul,  and  the  resurrection 
of  the  body,  appears  to  bai  lined,  an 

have  given  birth  to  tl.  ndid  II  and 

their  custom  of  embalming  the  dead,  their  worahip 

rred  from  Jehovah  to  the  I 
and  reptiles,  thai  peopled  the  land,  the  wal 
the  air  of  that  region  ;  and  among  them  irof 

most  hideous  made  ol 

ial  adoration.    Their  l 
with  idol>  and  pictures  of  idol  deities,  and  the  whole 
population  were  forced  by  the  iron  hand  of  power  to 

their  homage  to  thofl  1  shapes,  some! 

Living,  more  frequently  probably  dead,  and  bl 
and  deformed  by  the  mbalmei 


aim:  .maim:  iwi  i:i:  this  DISPENSATION.  7'.) 

them  a  material  immortality.  Is  it  possible  tor  crea- 
tures to  offer  a  more  awful  affront  to  Jehovah  their 
creator  and  Qpholder?  Their  paying  this  worship 
to  the  ox,  t ho  crocodile,  the  cat,  the  ibis,  and  tlio 
beetle,  implied  thai  their  attributes  were  superior  to 
his j  that  their  stations,  relations,  and  agencies,  in- 
vested them  with  higher  rights,  and  rendered  them 

more  worthy  of  acknowledgment  and  trust. 

The  despotic  rulers  of  Assyria  in  like  manner  es- 
tablished a  va-t  system  of  idolatry  as  the  Btate  reli- 
gion, in  which  hulls  and  lions  with  human  heads  ap- 
pear to  have  held  the  most  conspicuous  rank  ;  while 
in  Babylonia,  Nebuchadnezzar  erected  a  gigantic 
image  of  gold,  of  a  human  shape,  as  the  object  of* 
homage,  and  required  his  subjects  on  penalty  of 
death  to  worship  it  ;  and  images,  or  material  em- 
blems of  some  form,  were  the  objects  of  homage  to 
the  native  inhabitants  of  Palestine,  Syria,  the  adja- 
cent parts  of  A.sia  Minor,  and  the  vasl  regions  that 
stretch  eastward  to  the  confines  of  India,  for  a  long 
series  of  :  while  in  India  itself,  a  different  set 

of  still  more  hideous  and  monster  shapes  were  con- 
stituted deities,  ami  a  vast  array  of  priests  employed 
to  pay  them  a  worship  of  complicated  and  cruel  rites. 
The  despots  who  reigned  over  those  populous  and 
cultivated  nations  tor  two  thousand  years,  instead  of 
exerting  their  authority  in  repressing  false  religions, 
and  prompting  to  the  worship  of  Jehovah,  gave  their 
whole  influence  to  the  introduction  and  support  of 
idolatry,  forced   their  subjects   to   live   as   apostates 


from  J<  !. o i  ;:..    d  !  made  their  cruel  rit  -  and  <! 

to  t; 
The  Greel  i  Minor, the  islands  of  t!.    M 

i. 
Ital;.  lire  of  freedom, 

tiers,   fheir 
mmenl  ly  in  a  I 

the  expression  of  the  general  will,  and  their  relig 

popular  at.    Ti. 

religions  rites  were  the  gods  and  rites  of  the 
bo  the  general  voi  i  them  so.    Y 

i,  Kit  thna  to  their  own  * 
than  those  of  the  rn  empires,  still 

'apostatL  niversally  an 

thf  homage  of  idols.    Th 
and  the  ( 

ranean,  were  for 
rioationof  mi  , and  the  erection 

of  tern]  I  oe,    T 

thronged  wil  i  mly  in  the  temples,  the  fa 

of  jr.  e  theatres,  the 

l>ut  in  to 

their  whole  Life  was  monlded  and  i  by  their 

— tlms  showingin  the  most  Btriking manner 
that  no  strength  or  snbtlety  of  intellect,  no  refinem 

kno*  .  m  in  the  arts, 

lorn,  nor  o  of  them  in  their  hi 

any  bar  vah 


ARE  MADE  UNDER  THIS  DISPENSATION.  81 

to  idol-worship  :  that  it  is  not  ignorance  and  political 
degradatioD  alone  that  prompl  to  it,  but  that  the  sub- 
tle,  the  Learned,  the  winy,  the  refined  in  many  forms, 
an<l  the  free, are  borne  as  readily  to  the  renunciation 

of  the  Creator  and  ruler  of  the  universe,  and  the  suh- 
Btitntion  of  Stocks  and  stones  that  are  graven  by  man's 

art  and  device  in  his  place,  as  the  great  nations  of 
Asia  and  Africa  whom  tho  hand  of  despotism  has 
kept  in  the  most  abject  ignoranco  and  vassalage.  A 
similar  display  was  likewise  made  by  the  population 
of  Italy. 

And  the  whole  of  these  nations  continued  their 
idolatry  down  to  the  age  of  the  apostles.  No  experi- 
ence of  the  vanity  of  their  worship,  none  of  the  ter- 
rible judgments  with  which  they  wero  overwhelmed 
by  the  Most  High  in  punishment  of  their  revolt  from 
him — judgments  from  which  they  learned  that  their 
gods  could  not  deliver  them — contributed  in  tho 
slightest  degree  to  excite  them  to  abandon  them. 
So  far  from  it,  they  continued  to  multiply  their  dei- 
ties and  to  sink  to  lower  and  lower  depths  of  supersti- 
tion and  debasement  in  their  worship,  till  their  f. 
systems  began  to  bo  superseded  by  the  gospel. 

What  an  amazing  exemplification  of  tho  human 
heart !  Those  nations  comprised,  with  the  excep- 
tion of  the  Hebrews,  the  whole,  or  nearly  the  whole 
that  had  risen  above  extreme  barbarism  during  the 
twenty-three  centuries  that  followed  the  deluge,  and 
abounded  witli  rulers,  philosophers,  poets,  and  histo- 
rians, of  as  great  genius  and  as  large  cultivation  in 

4* 


-J 

their  I  in  the 

WOrld.       Y.  t    wit  OeptiOD,   their   [ 

DCtiOD    U  1  Of 

idolatry—  the  worship  of  marble!  metalli 

Btatuefl  ;  the  most  hideous  brutes  and  vil< 

or  human  monsters  of  lost,  treachery,  cruelty, 

ambit  ified  by  the  imagination,  ami  inv< 

with  !•  the  affairi  of  men.     Can  the  I 

conceive  of  more  decisive  and  dreadful  proofs  that 

the  race  is  in  open  revoll  From  Jehovah,  and  rej 

him  and  his  Bervice  with  the  moat  intone  non  ? 

[f  it  be  not,  how  Lb  it  that  not  a  Bofitarj 

from  this  monatromi  impiety  is  heard  through 

pi  it 

wafl  at  the  risk  of  his  li: 

Their  apostasy  thus  i,  .  t<»  the  worship 

of  false  deitie8,  in  most  of  whom  an  animal  and 

ual  nature  was  held  t.»  have  a  predomin 
urily  followed,  as  the  apostle  indicate 
withdrawing  from  them,  ami  giving  them  ap  to  the 
unrestrained  sway  of  the  appetites  which  they  impi- 
6naly  deified,  and  allowing  th<  ink  t<>  ti 

depths  of  impurity  ami  debasement.   The  sexual 
sion,  in  its  most  unli  ml  polluting 

■ : 1 1 \-  formally  sanctioned, but  its  gratification  a 
part  of  their  homage  to  their  deities;  their  tei 

in,Lr  made  the  of  puMie  and  DOUndl  ititlh 

t  inn.  and  their  priestsand  pri  i the  chief  ai 

in  the  horrid  ,     And  from  them  the  tide  of  law- 

::id  corrupt]  h  all  the  inferior 


aim:  man:  DNDEB  THIS   r  ;<>\. 

ranks,  till  the  whole  mass  Bank  to  the  low< 
of  pollution.  The  cities  on  the  borders  of  the  As- 
phaltine  Bea  had  reached  Buch  an  extreme  ofwicked- 
-  in  this  relation,  in  the  days  of  Abraham,  that 
God  Bwepl  them  to  destrnctioD  by  a  storm  of  fire  and 
brimstone,  and  their  site  remains  a  monument  at  i 
of  their  guilt   and   his  ace.    Four  hundred 

years  later  the  Canaanites  were  destroyed,  in  a  L 
measure,  for  their  addiction  to  the  same  debasing  sin. 
The  Egyptians,  the  Assyrians,  the  Babylonians,  the 
population  of  Syria  preeminently,  and  of  Asia  Minor, 
were  Dotorious  for  the  profligacy  of  their  manners; 
and  throughout  the  whole  circuit  of  the  Roman  em- 
pire, in  the  age  of  the  apostle,  an  almost  total  diss  - 

lution  of  morals  had  taken  place. 

And  the  unbridled  reign  of  that  debasing  appetite 
gave  birth  also — as  the  Spirit  of  truth  indicates  it 
naturally  must — to  the  whole  brood  of  seliish  and 
malign  passions,  and  converted  its  vassals  into  ene- 
mies, scourges,  and  destroyers  of  each  other.  The 
great  business  of  the  chief  nations  from  the  days  of 
Abraham  to  the  birth  of  Christ,  was  war,  slaughter, 
conquest,  plunder,  devastation,  and  vengeance.  Dur- 
ing that  period — besides  the  numerous  wars  betw< 
inferior  kingdoms — five  great  empir  three  in 

the  east,  and  two  in  the  west,  that  spread  their  con- 
quest.- over  a  large  pari  of  the  world  that  was  then 
in  any  degree  civilized,  ;  I  at  iped  it  in  the  blood 
of  its  inhabitants.  The  people  were  held  to  be  the 
absolute  property  of  the  monarchs,  and  were  crushed 


v  I       GREAT  MANIl  TJIi:  HI 

□  millioi 
que*  d  into  a  bopel< 

• 

ry  pari  !i«l  such 

thing 

beni  .  known  tu  a  human  bosom. 

Buoh  was  tin-  i  i  nations*    1 

.   of  the  Israelites,  the  i 
Jehoyat)  to  the  idols  of  their  heathen  neighl 
depths  of  impiety  and  profli^  which  they  sank, 

and  tin'  fierce  and  bloody  wars  In  which,  after  their 
division  into  two  kingdoms,  they  scourged  and  wa 

h  other,  formed  a  .-till  more  awful  exhibition  of  the 
human  hi 

Such  was  the  result  <>f  the  trial  el'  mankind  through 
four  thousand  years,  1  I     d  clearly 

sled  himself  to  them  through  his 
himself  known  t<>  them   in  many  ether  mod 
would   recognize   and   honor  him,  or  would   r< 
and  turn  from  him  t<»  th<  ip  of  imaginary  d<  i- 

:   and    to   Bhow  with   what   direful   pi  they 

would  become  inflam  to  what  awful  l< 

of  wick.  :  bey  would  turn,  whi 

righteoui  bandons  them,  b  I  their  i 

f  their  own  corrupt  and  malignant 

. 
This  i-.  indeed,  hut  a  faint  picture  i 

1  reality.     Yet  Blight  and  dim  as  it  is,  what  a 

But  to  the  <  hole 


ABB   MADE   UXDEK  THIS    DISPENSATION.  89 

scene,  and  comprehended  its  fearful  significance,  how 

profound  and  overwhelming  must  the  realization  have 
been  it  produced,  thai  tin*  raeo  are  lust  lb  a  Btern  and 
remorseless  enmity  to  Jehovah  ! 

Tho  exhibition  made  of  the  human  heart  under  the 
gospel,  in  the  opposition  it  met  from  Jews  and  Pa- 
gans at  its  promulgation,  the  dreadful  perversion  to 
which  it  was  soon  subjected,  and  the  merciless  per- 
secution by  which  the  true  worshippers  were  for  many 
ages  pursued  by  Pagans  and  false  Christians,  is  equally 
demonstrative  of  its  utter  alienation  from  God.  Tho 
dark  picture  given  in  the  New  Testament  of  tho 
treatment  Paul  received  as  the  great  preacher  of  the 
glad  tidings  of  salvation  through  Christ,  may  be  taken 
as  an  exemplification  of  the  reception  the  news  of 
redemption  met  from  the  nations  generally  to  whom 
it  was  first  proclaimed.  His  life,  through  the  twenty- 
six  years  of  his  labors,  was  one  ceaseless  conflict  with 
passionate  and  malign  opponents,  a  scene  of  perpetual 
peril  from  conspirators,  assassins,  mobs,  and  persecu- 
ting magistrates.  He  says  of  himself,  "  I  am  more 
a  minister  of  Christ  than  others  ;  in  labors  more  abun- 
dant, in  stripes  above  measure,  in  prisons  more  fre- 
quent, in  deaths  oft.  Of  the  Jews  five  times  received 
I  forty  stripes  save  one.  Thrice  was  I  beaten  with 
rods  ;  once  was  I  stoned  ;  in  journey ings  often,  in 
perils  of  waters,  in  perils  of  robbers,  in  perils  by  mine 
own  countrymen,  in  perils  by  the  heathen,  in  perils 
in  the  city,  in  perils  in  the  wilderness,  in  perils  in  tho 
sea,  in  perils  among  false  brethren,  in  weariness  and 


THE  HE 

painfulness,  in  watch  r  and  ti. 

in  fa  . ten,  in  cold  and  naki 

I  he  at  Length  fefl  a  victim  to  thi 
of  his  enemies,  and  1  ipitated 

tlii-.  simply  of  hia  fidelity  to  Chriai  ;   not- 

withstanding hia  apoatleahip  waa  demonstrated  I 

r  crowd  of  atnpendona  miracL  lially  in 

the  hestowmi  piritual  gifta  in  connexion  with 

hia  a  athenic 

any  other  m<  '  '1  althongh  hia 

duct  waa  marked  by  th<  iprightness,  pru> 

dence,  gentli  f-denial,  and  sea]  for 

the  well-being  of  those  whom  he  addressed.    ] 
hatred  and  malice  with  which  he  was  parse 
finally  martyred,  are  only  paralleled  by  the  infori 
with  which  the  I  k>d  waa 

by,  malig 
mocked,  aconrged,  and  at  Length  pul  to  death  on 
Conld  snch  a  procedure  towarda  an  uprij 
.  holy  and   benevolent,  noble-h 
working  preacher  of  aalvation,  have  been  possible, 
had  not  those  who  thus  outraged  him  been  the  most 
Btern  and  implacable  and  lawlesa  and 

brutal  enemiea  of  hia  children  ? 

The  persecution  of  the  discip]  I  gun 

by  t!  l'  oa  in  the  apoatle'a  life,  waa  continued  by 
them  at  intervals  through  more  than  two  hundred 
and  lil"t\  ind  hundreds  of  thoi 

j-;iwli\  tli.  Qominioua  and  cruel  deal 

1  in  dun  torn  with  hot  irons,  bun 


AUK  MAIM-:  UNDEB  THIS  DISPENSATION.  87 

the  stake,  decapitated  on  the  block,  hung  on  the 
cross,  thrown  to  wild  beasts  ; — and  all  the  power  of 
the  Roman  empire  was  exerted  to  exterminate  them 
from  the  earth.  On  the  Legalization  and  paganization 
of  the  church  by  Constantino,  that  monarch  and  a 
large  portion  of  the  hierarchy  themselves  became 

ferocious  persecutors  of  the  true  worshippers  ;  and  his 

successors  en  the  Byzantine  throne  continued  t<>  be 

such,  with  hut  short  intervals,  through  more  than  a 
thousand  years,  till  the  extinction  of  that  line  by  the 
Turks  in  1  153.  The  churches  of  "Western  Europe 
also  apostatized  at  the  same  time  as  those  of  the 
Basl  to  the  homage  of  saints,  relics,  and  statues,  con- 
verted the  established  religion  into  a  horrid  system 
of  the  most  impious  errors  and  debasing  supersti- 
tions, and  became  also  cruel  and  insatiable  persecu- 
tors ;  so  that  the  Catholic  churches  themselves  of 
the  West  and  the  East  have  been  the  greatest  cor- 
rupters of  the  principles  and  morals  of  men  the 
world  has  ever  seen,  the  most  impious  blasphemers 
of  God,  and  the  most  ferocious  and  remorseless  op- 
pressors and  murderers  of  his  children, through  more 
than  twelve  hundred  years  ;  until  in  the  East  they 
have  nearly  sunk  into  extinction  ;  while  in  the  West 
they  have  almosl  universally  passed  from  even  the 
nominal  belief  in  Christianity  into  the  most  blank 
and  impious  atheism  and  pantheism,  and  sunk,  ac- 
cording to  the  usual  law  of  God's  providence,  to  the 
lowest  depths  of  the  most  coarse  and  debasing  im- 
morality, and  become  inflamed  with  the  most  lawless 


88     G 

ami  Moody  |  Tin*  omijianil  .ill  liuni- 

of  true  worship] 

1       !.   in 

Bpite  of  the  moi  1  church 

and  tin*  civil  powers  through  s  1 

\  iotimfl  of  thai  c  irho 

rished  by  the 
Mak  in  loath 

worn  oul  at  the  gall*  mount  to  millioi 

•    Diardi  tlif  lain  I 

been  as  ferooioiui  in  their  pat 

otln  dl    The  natiom 

Western  Euro]  i 

d  for  tfa  reive  hnndn 

bloody  and  malignant  u  other.    Th 

in    their   eultiv 

mains  that  has  not  been  a  battL  many  of 

iho  \  1  plains  of  lt,i! .    I  • 

Spain,  have  frequently  been  drenched  with  the  1 
ofth  x      ther  part  of  even  this  fallen  world, 

probably,  has  been  the  theai  nchtLirefol  ambi- 

tion, hate,  and  r  with  sueh  a 

train  of  Sighs  and   _  ted  by  the  wan- 

ton infliction  of  wounds  and  death  by  man  on  man. 
Sueh  is.  in  brief,  the  result  of  the  experiment  that 

trt  of  man  through  • 

hundred  under  tl                   <       a  more 

i  appalling  demonstration  l              ived 

that  fallen,  revolting, 
rigible  I 


ARE  KADI  PNDEB  THIS  DISPENSATION.  89 

the  work  of  redemption  assumes  him  to  1"'  ?  thai  Lefl 
to  himself,  he  instantly  apostatizes  from  God,  and  be- 
comes a  debased  and  ferocions  brute  ;  and  that  noth- 
ing 1'iit  infinite  power  and  n  renew,  trans- 
form, and  save  him  ? 


c  H  a  p  t  i:  B    VIII. 

THE  0  mis  TRIAL  of  THK  i: 

THAT  FOLLOW. 

Such  is.  in  brief,  tin-  result  of  the  experinn 
lias  made  of  the  haman  ln-art  through  oear  six  thou- 
Band  ami  -till  nr  Iful  display  b  of  11 

ke  place  a-  this  dispensation  dr  se,  in 

the  attempts  which  tin-  civil  powers  and  tin'  man  of 

.-in  will  make  t<»  exterminate  the  true  worshippers 

and  folio1  I  '  loUB  and 

appalling demonstratioD  be  conceived  that  man  u 

I  Bnch  a  fallen,  revolting,  and  incorrigible  being, 
a-  the  word  of  God  repn  ad  as  tin-  work  oi 

demption  assumes  him  to  1m-?    Can  it  be  doul 
the  worlds  and  beings  that  witness  (.rare  made  acquaint- 
ed with  it.  must  feel  that  it  forms  sufficient  pro* 
the  truths  it  exemplifies  to  cause  the  unii 
know  and  realize  from  what  it  is  that  m< 
even   in  i  of  <  triumphant 

:.  when  they  are  to  he  wholly  fa 


TO  BATE  FUTURE  GENERATIONS  WITHOUT  TRIAL.       91 

hit  ion  of  sin  and  its  curse  ?   And  how  indispensable  to 
those  who  are  then  to  be  redeemed  will  these  exem- 
plifications be  ?     Sow  else  conld  they  so  clearly 
what  the  abyss  of  ruin  is  from  which  they  are  res- 
cued] or  realize  the  riches  and  sovereignty  of  the 

grace  to  which  they  owe  the    BpOtleSS   existence,  and 

the  immeasurable  glory  and  beatitude  to  which  they 
are  exalted  ?  Bui  as  they  gaze  on  this  awful  specta- 
cle and  trace  its  countless  myriads  through  all  their 
history,  they  will  Bee  as  clearly  and  feel  with  a-  deep 

a  sensibility  as  those  who  are  saved  under  the  pre- 
sent   dispensation,  what  the  sin  and  misery  are    from 

which  they  are   ex.  mpted,  and   what    the    riches  and 

glory  n\'  the  love,  and  wisdom,  and  might,  are  to 
which  they  owe  their  blissful  stations  in  the  king- 
dom of  Christ. 

The  oftice  the  present  economy  is  to  fill  to  that 
which  is  to  follow  it,  is  thus  an  explanation  and  a 
justification  of  it.  It  furnishes  an  ample  reason  for 
the  administration  God  is  now  exercising,  and  invests 
those  of  his  measures  which  would  otherwise  seem 
enshrouded  in  darkness,  with  the  light  of  wisdom  and 
grace.  That  he  Bhould  overrule  the  rebellion  and 
perishing  of  such  crowds  through  a  long*  series  of 
ages  in  such  a  manner  as  to  prepare  the  way  for  his 
saving  the  race  at  large  that  thereafter  comes  into 
existence  through  eternal  years,  bespeaks  a  greatness 
and  grandeur  of  goodness  and  skill  that  transcends 
the  grasp  of  creature-,  and  must  forever  he  contem- 
plated by  them  with  wonder  and  adoration.     It  is  io 


op  m  iow  n  i 

thia  tli.it  the  ap  an- 

Bouncing  tl.  truth.  I        i     l  in  th. 

dispensation,  oonelndee  all,  both  J  I  ilea, 

in  anbel 

Ohri  i.  be  may  1  i  m  all  of  both  claosoi 

ever,  uO  the  depth  of  tin  both 

Of  t:  in   and  <         :       !  i     v   un- 

ohable  are  hie  ju  find- 

.    r  who  hath  known  the  mind  of  I 
or  who  hath  been  hi-  Uor?    Or  who  hath 

d  to  him,  and  it  shall  be  recompei  him 

again?    For  of  him,  ami  throngh  him,  and  to  him  are 
all  things:  to  whom  be  glory  forever.'1    ] 

fulness  ami  glory  of   it  BO  tr 

of  creatures,  Lie  thus  in  the  fact  thai  the  blind] 
unbelief,  and  perishing  of  .Tows  and  GentiL 

ale  onder  tl  anomy,  are  in  i 

y  upon  all  of  I  that 

o  r.      Take   away  tl. 

ii  i-  to  iill  in  coming  dispensation, 

all  comprehensive  intell 

(loin   vanish  !      But    that    subserviency    which   is    to 

tch  throngh  etei  id  oontribnte  to  the 

niption  of  >iuli  COnntleSfl  millions  of  tn 

-  it  with  a  grandeur  of  love  ami  skill  tfa 
worthy  of  Jehovah,  ami  oommei  with  Um 

terestfl  of  his  boundless  kingdom. 

administrati  the 

momentous  influ  I  iture 

apart  an  awful  Bignificanoe  to  the  evil  ao- 


TO  SAVE  PUTUBB  GENEBATION8  WITHOUT  TRIAL.       98 

tiona  of  men  under  it.  and  a  lofty  dignity  to  their 
obedience.  With  what  immeasurable  grandeur  it 
invest^  the  humbleness,  patience,  meekness,  Bubmis- 
Bipn,  love,  faith,  and  Bteadfastnesa  of  the  renewed,  in 

their  seasons  of  sharp  trial,  that  they  are  to  prepare 
the  way  for  their  pardon  and  acceptance,  by  the 

proofs  they  present  that  God  acts  according  to  truth 
in  treating  them  as  indubitably  his  children  !    What 

an  august  place  is  assigned  them  among  the  means 
by  which  ho  is  to  accomplish  his  purposes  of  grace, 
thai  by  the  demonstrations  they  exhibit  of  Ids  power, 
sovereignty,  and  love,  and  the  reality  of  their  recon- 
ciliation to  him  whom  he  accepts,  they  are  to  supcr- 
the  necessity  of  subjecting  the  race  in  future 
9  to  such  trials,  and  render  it  practicable  and 
wise  to  bestow  salvation  on  all!  This  great  truth 
was  understood  and  felt  by  the  disciples  of  the  first 
age,  and  inspired  them  with  fortitude  under  the  af- 
flictions to  which  they  were  called.  It  was  the  com- 
mon sentiment  of  the  apostles  and  early  martyrs,  that 
trials  were  to  be  welcomed,  rather  than  shunned. — 
"  Count  it  all  joy  when  ye  fall  into  divers  tempta- 
tions ;  knowing  that  the  trying  of  your  faith  work- 
eth  patience.  But  let  patience  have  her  perfect 
work,  that  ye  may  bo  perfect  and  entire,  wanting 
nothing."  "  Blessed  is  the  man  that  endurcth  temp- 
tation; for  when  he  is  tried,  he  shall  receive  the 
crown  of  life,  which  the  Lord  hath  promised  to  them 
that  love  him." 


HI  Tin:      ■•     } 


(ha  pt  i:  B    IX. 

TIIK  AIM    OF    CI  OH    TIIK    THBONI    <»K    HKAVKN.       THE 

DMIOM  OF  Al  :  u.l.F.N  OBBfl  WITH  TB 

IN'  OHI  EMFIBB  UH]      .  I  .W. 

The  administration  Christ  ;  tisingon 

throne  of  heaven,  is  designed,  we  are  taught,  to  i 
the  Inhabitants  of  other  worlds  acquainted  with  his 
work    a  R  and  is  preparatory  to  ■  new  dis- 

pensation over  this,  under  which  all  nati 
redeemed. 

Thi  1 1    1  is  pursuing,  the  Scripts 

represent,  is  to  bring  the  whole  universe  of  intellij 
creaturee— with  the  exception  of  the  fallen  an 
and  those  of  our  race  who  shall  be  lost — into  one  har- 
monious and  perfect  empire  under  the  scepta 
Christ.    Those  of  the  unmflen  worlds  are  placed  under 
his  rule  as  Jehovah-man,  and  led  to  know  and 
knowledge  bim  in  that  nature,  and  yield  a  willing  and 

1  glorify  him  in  his 
work  a<  the  Redeemer  of  men  ;  and  those  of  this 
world  ale  his  institution  ofa  i 

e  raised  to  a  level  in  hoi  unfallen 


THE  DNFALLBN  AND  REDEEMED  IX  ONE  EMPIRE.   95 

worlds,  and  do  his  will  thereafter  on  earth  as  it  is 

done  in  heaven. 

Thus    Pail]    says.  M  He    has    made    known    to    Dfl    the 
mystery  of  his  will,  according  to  his  own  good  plea- 
sure which  he  purposed  in  himself, — in  the  economy, 
cnliar  plan  of  administration)  of  the  fulness  of  the 

times,  to  bring  together  again  in  one,  (empire)  all  in 
Christ— those  in  the  heavens,  and  those  upon  the 
earth."  The  all  in  the  heavens  and  upon  the  earth, 
are  all  the  intelligent  inhabitants  of  those  worlds,  to 
the  exclusion  of  the  fallen  angels  and  the  lost  of  man- 
kind, who  will  then  no  longer  be  inhabitants  either 
of  heaven  or  of  earth.  This  is  seen  from  their  dis- 
crimination from  the  heavens — the  heavenly  orbs,  in 
which  the  one  class  resides,  and  from  the  earth  iq/on 
which  the  other  dwells.  It  is  shown  moreover  by  the 
explanation  which  is  given  Colos.  i.  20,  of  the  nature 
of  this  union  of  the  all  in  heaven  in  one  under  Christ, 
as  a  conciliation  of  them  to  God  under  him  ;  that  is, 
bringing  them  to  a  filial  acquiescence  in  his  rule  over 
them  in  his  human  nature  ;  and  Phil.  ii.  6-11,  where 
it  is  exhibited  as  the  bending  of  every  knee  of  those 
in  the  heavens  and  on  earth  and  under  the  earth,  and 
the  confession  of  every  tongue — which  are  acts  of  in- 
telligences— that  Jesus  Christ  is  Lord  to  the  glory  of 
God  the  Father.  Their  being  all  reunited  with  the 
inhabitant-  of  the  earth  in  one,  therefore,  will  be  their 
union  in  one  harmonious  empire  under  Christ,  in 
which  all  will  recognize  him  in  his  complex  nature, 
and  in  his  authority  as  Messiah,  as  their  rightful  King, 


THE  .MM  OF  CHB 

the  ji  tlieir  homage  and  all  and  will 

1  nature-  ai.  I 

him  a  glad,  adoring,  and  ;  obediei 

Tin-  union  of  the  inhabitant 
onder  Christ,  tnplished  by  hia 

ae  of  heaven,  and  investiture  with  -  ■  au- 

rerthem.    llras,  the  apostle  says  that  on  his 

I  him  at  1  lis  o\\  n 
ritLrht    hand   in    t 

principality,  and  and 

named,  in  this  age,  but 

in  that  which  i-  !  hath  put  all  u: 

him  to  I  r  all  to  the 

church,  which  is  his  b(  bin  that 

filh'th  all  in  all*  E}»li.  i.L      2    , 
supreme  authority  over  them,  t: 

the  most  intima!  ;  with  him  m  hi- 

nature    and    (.Hie      a-     Redeemer;    made    ae  ; 
with   his  work   a 

serve  him  as  their  rightful  Lord.    This  Bubjection  to 
him   is  m»t   a  change   IV  .  hut 

simply  .  in  their  relations,  and  a  ition 

of  him  in  his  new  rel  rtions  to  thi 
nate,  the  R  deemer  of  mankind,  their  I 
rightful  ruler,  acquiescence  in  hi  in  that  i 

d  glorification  of  him  therefore  aa  having  the 
rights  whicl  -  in  the  work  of  tion, 

and  tnplishing  th-  t  which  he  aims  in  it 

It  w 

th  in  behalf  of  mankind,  i  bt,  that  he  is 


THE  UNFALLEN  AND  REDEEMED  IN  ONE  EMPIRE.   97 

exalted  to  Buprome  dominion  over  them  ;  and  its  ob- 
jecl  is  to  bring  them  to  a  knowledge  and  acknowl- 
edgment of  him  in  liis  union  to  man  and  work  as  Re- 
deemer, and  love  and  adoration  of  him  in  thai  office. 
Though  M  being  in  the  form  of  (2nd.  and  thinking  it 
do  violent  grasping— (no  asurf>ation  of  the  divine 
rights)  to  bo  equal  with  God,  he  yel  made  himself  of 
no  reputation,  and  took  upon  himself  the  form  of  a 
servant,  and  was  made  in  the  likeness  of  men  ;  and 
being  found  in  fashion  as  a  man,  he  humbled  himself, 
and  became  obedient  unto  death,  even  the  death  of  the 

- :  Wherefon  .  i  because  of  this  assumption  of  m 
nature  and  death  for  his  redemption,)  God  has  high- 
ly exalted  him,  and  given  him  a  name  above  evefy 
name,  thai  at  the  name  of  Jesus  every  knee  should 
bow  of  those  of  the  heavens,  and  of  those  of  the  earth, 
and  of  those  under  the  earth,  and  every  tongue  should 
confess  that  Jesus  Christ  is  Lord,  to  the  glory  of  God 
the  Father.''  Phil.  ii.  5-11.  The  very  object  of  his 
investiture  with  the  sceptre  of  the  heavenly  worlds 
thus  is,  to  bring  all  the  orders  of  intelligent  beings 
that  dwell  in  them  to  a  full  knowledge  and  acknowl- 
edgment of  him  the  incarnate  Jehovah  as  their  right- 
ful Lord,  as  possessing  the  prerogatives  he  claims, 
and  as  adequate  to  the  work  he  undertakes.  And  as 
their  recognition  of  him  is  willing,  filial,  and  adorn 
a  glad  acquiescence  in  his  rule,  and  approval  of  his 
work  as  Saviour,  it  is  that  union  in  one  under  him  as 
their  head  that  is  expressed  Eph.  i.  9-10,  by  their 
being  in  the  fulness  of  the  times  gathered  together, 


98  thi:  aim  OP  CHI 

with  mankind  upon  I  mpire  oi 

him.    The  \\  bole  nniver 

the  heavenly  worlds,  is  thu  lit  int..  I 

intimate  relations  t«.  him,  and  made  acquainted  with 

I,     deity,  hi    ■  lequacy  to  I 

■ 

yield  an  admiring  anil  rapturous  snbmission  t 

1  justify  and  glorify  ;ij. point- 

ing him  t-'  the  work. 

This   anion   of  the   inhabitants  of  the   I 
worlds,  with  those  of  the  earth,  in  one  empire  under 
Christ,  la  exhibited  in  I  ciliation, 

ami  has  been  thought  by  Borne  t<»  indicate  thai  a  *\r- 

of  alienation  from  Q-od,  or  doubt  of  tho  rectitude 
and  wisdom  oi'  hi-  waj  s,  in  the  i  f  the 

heavenly  orbs.     Bui  that  i-  an  error.    The  language 
of  the  pi  I  God  that  in  him  all 

fulness  should  dwell,  and  through  him  t.  ile  all 

unto  himself  (bring  tln-m  to  a  knowledge  of  him  as  the 

emer,  acquiescence  in  his  v,  nch,  and  ado- 

ration and  love  of  him  for  it.)  he  having  mad 
through  the  blood  of  his  cross — through  him. 

rth,  or  those  in  the  h  worlds." 

Chap.  i.   19,  20.     This  conciliation  is  plainly  not  a 
ehange  of  character  in  tl.  nly  hosts,  hut  Bimply 

of  rel  ' :  »ns,  and  a  Glial  acquiescence  in  the  new 
mini- 1 ration  under  which  they  are  placed  ;  an  adoring 

nition  of  its  rightfulness  and  hone!'  ad  a 

glorification  of  Christ  ami  the  Father  lor  the 
and  j  •  which  it  display  b.    The  verb  tr 


THE  UNPALLBM  AND  REDEEMED  IN  ONE  EMPIRE. 

Qcile,  does  do1  necessarily  mean  a  change  from 
alienation  to  love,  from  revoll  to  obedience,  but  sim- 
ply a  change  Prom  one  state,  or  relationship,  to  ano- 
ther; and  only  denotes  in  this  passage,  so  far  aa 
Bpects  the  inhabitants  of  the  heavenly  worlds,  that  they 

nt  with  joyous  and  adoring  affections  to  the  new 
relations  in  which  they  are  placed  by  the  exaltation 
of  Christ  to  supreme  authority  over  them.  And  as 
the  elevation  of  the  Word  in  union  with  the  man 
Christ  Jesus,  to  that  station,  investiture  with  all  the 
rights  of  the  deity,  and  requirement  that  all  the  or- 
ders  of  intelligences  should  worship  him  in  that  union 
with  man,  and  yield  obedience  to  his  sceptre,  are 
among  the  greatest  and  most  wondrous  acts  of  the 
divine  administration  towards  creatures  ;  so  their 
bending  in  submission  to  him  in  that  nature,  worship- 
ping him  as  Creator  and  Lord,  and  glorifying  the 
Father  for  investing  him  with  authority  over  them, 
are  the  greatest  and  most  wonderful  acts  of  allegiance 
that  holy  creatures  can  be  conceived  to  render  ;  and 
arc  lofty  in  beauty  and  resplendence  in  them,  as  well 
fulgent  in  the  glory  they  reflect  on  God. 
This  union  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  heavenly 
worlds  in  one  empire  under  Christ  took  place  doubt- 
less immediately  after  his  ascension.  A  knowledge 
of  his  investiture  with  supreme  authority  over  them, 
must  have  been  then  communicated  to  them,  and  of 
the  new  and  peculiar  duties  to  which  they  were  call- 
ed by  the  new  relations  in  which  they  were  placed 
to  him.     It  was  Bhewn  indeed  to  the  angelic  orders 


]im)  thi;  AIM  OF  CHB 

w  bo  Were  in  the  di>  i  d  it- 

ition  also.     It  most  ; 
know  d  also  to  all  the  the 

ither  bj 
of  a]  by  the  apjx  Christ  himself  to 

them,  and  not  improbably  in  each  of  It 

en  first 
made  known   t  i 

Ohri  n.    Additional  information 

ing  it  and  the  event 

commnnicated  from  time  to  time 

often  1  onr  world  to  m 

the  pnrj 

9  iil.     But  Christ  b 
himself  to  the  inhabitants  of  his  innumerable  worlds, 
allowed  them  to  behold  him  in  his  incarnate  and 
rified  nature  .  them  a  direct  horn 

and  given  them  to  meet  his  smile, 
i  eptance  and  g  from  his  li; 

this  \  rk,requi  r  its  full  accomplish- 

ment, rather  than   merely  a   few  may  be 

id  that  i  period  has  intervened  betn 

torn  to  1  he  is 

ring  the  family  of  man  also  into  a  like 
and  blissful  subjection  t<>  hie 

Tl  .    to   the  tin  and 

iliation  <>t  all  tb 

timuteh  with  ami  prepar- 

>nciliation  of  the  inhabitant 


Tin:  UNFALLEH  AND  REDEEMED  IN"  ONE  EMPIRE.      1 1 •  1 

oiii-  world  to  him,  is  also  clearly  revealed  in  these  and 
other  passages.  For  the  intelligent  beings  who  are 
to  be  brought  together  in  one  empire  under  him, 
consisi  of  two  divisions:  first,  those  in  the  heavenly 
orbs  :  and  Becond,  those  that  dwell  on  the  earth  ;  in- 
clnding  all  intelligences  in  the  universe  therefore,  ex- 
cept the  fallen  angels,  and  the  lost  of  mankind,  who 
are  not  comprised  in  those  divisions,  inasmuch  ai 
the  time  to  which  this  passage,  Epli.  i.  9,  10,  refers, 
they  will  not  he  inhabitants  either  of  the  heavenly 
worlds,  or  of  the  earth.  The  time  when  the  reconcili- 
ation of  the  inhabitants  of  the  earth  is  to  be  accom- 
plished, so  that  they  will  become  a  part  of  his  obedi- 
ent empire,  is  still  future,  and  future  to  the  present 
dispensation  over  men  ;  for  it  is  to  take  place  under 
the  administration  of  the  fulness  of  the  times  ;  and 
that  is  to  follow  the  present  dispensation  over  this 
world,  which  is  the  time  of  the  Gentiles,  and  dur- 
ing which  Israel  continues  in  blindness  and  under 
the  curse  of  exile  and  dispersion.  Most  of  the  Gen- 
tile nations  remain  nnapprized  of  the  gospel  and  pay 
their  worship  to  idols  ;  and  the  church  itself  has  in  a 
great  incisure  apostatized  from  Christ,  instituted  a 
new  sacrifice  for  sin,  and  pays  its  homage  to  crea- 
tures. But  the  accession  of  the  inhabitants  of  the 
earth  to  Christ's  obedient  empire  is  to  take  place  after 
the  blindness  of  Israel,  and  the  apostasy  of  the  Gen- 
tiles have  passed,  and  he  comes  the  second  time  unto 
salvation  ;  for  it  is  then  that  he  is  to  turn  away  un- 
godliness from  Jacob,  and  all  Israel  shall  d  ; 


L02        mi 

and  then  thai  t! 

in.  and  he  Bhall  upon  all;  B 

What    the  inhabit 

earth  to  God1  (  1 

mora  fully  explained  by  Paul,  Eph.  Iii.  2-11,  ' 

rd  of  t :  oration  of  adminis- 

<  I    1  which  is  given  (commu- 
nical  I  :  that  b;  tion  lie 

made  known  unto  mi 

written  briefly  (chap.  i.  ft-1 1.)  whereby  when 
ye  may  see  my  knowledge  (thai  i  ct  and  i 

prehensive)  of  the  d  I  orist,  which  in  other 

-  doI  made  known  onto  tl  of  men 

led  unto  his  holy  apostles  and  prophets 
by  the  Spirit,  (namely,)  thai  I 
low  i  •  rs  of 

^whereof  ] 
was  made  a  minister,  thai  1  should  preach  am 

■  ilea  the  unsearchable  ri  I  ad  make 

all  men  Bee  what  tl.  my  (the  admini 

plan,)  of  the  mystery  is  which  from  the  beginning 
the  world  has  been  hid  in  God,  wh  II  in 

Christ,  to  the  intenl  that  now  unto  the  principal) 
and  the  in  the  heavenly  worlds  might 

known  through  the  church,  the  manifold  wisdom  of 

ternaJ  purpose  which  he  pnr- 
I        1  in  Christ  plan  which  had 

:  revealed  of  Christ's  administration  over  this 
world  in  the  fulness  of  t  to  be 


THE  DNPALLEN  AXi>  REDEEMED  IN  i  [RE.       10:j 

the  plan  of  making  tin*  Gentiles  fellow  hi  I  fel- 

low partakers  of  the  promise  in  Christ  through  the 
gospel.  Who  then  are  those  with  whom  they  are  to 
be  fellow  heirs  ;  and  what  are  the  promises  of  which 
they  are  to  be  fellow  partakers?  The  answer  is — It 
Is  with  the  Israelites  that  they  are  to  be  fellow  heirs, 
and  oi  the  promises  made  to  them  in  Christ  through 
the  gospel  that  they  are  to  be  fellow  partakers  j  and 
thence  it  is  by  their  becoming  fellow  heirs  and  par- 
takers with  them  of  the  blessings  promised  them  in 
Christ,  that  the  whole  inhabitants  of  the  earth  are  to 
be  restored  from  their  alienation, brought  into  perfect 
subjection  to  Christ,  and  incorporated  in  the  ono 
perfect  empire  under  him. 

What  then  arc  the  peculiar  blessings  promised  to 
the  Israelites,  of  which  they  arc  thus  to  become  par- 
takers? 1.  The  first  great  promise  is,  that  God  will 
be  their  God,  and  they  shall  be  his  people.  "  The 
Lord  appeared  to  Abram,  and  said  unto  him,  I  am  the 
Almighty  God,  walk  before  me  and  be  thou  perfect, 
and  I  will  establish  my  covenant  between  me  and 
thee,  and  thy  seed  after  thee,  in  their  generations, 
for  an  everlasting  covenant,  to  be  a  God  unto  thee 
and  thy  seed  after  thee."  Genesis  xvii.  1,  7.  "And 
all  be  my  people,  and  I  will  be  your  God."  Jer- 
emiah xxx.  '22.  '2.  That  Christ  should  at  length  ap- 
pear and  reign  over  them  as  their  King.  "Unto  us 
a  child  is  born,  unto  US  a  son  is  given  ;  and  the  gov- 
ernment shall  be  upon  Ids  shoulder,  and  his  name 
shall  be   called  Wonderful,  Counsellor,  the   Mighty 


mi 


her,  the  P  .Of 

the  increase  ofhia  go\  ernmenl  ai  all  be 

ad  upon  the  throne  of  D  ind  upon  his  kingdom, 

it,  and  to  establish  it  with  judgm<  with 

ice  from  henceforth  even  forever  m  n  ."'  baiah 

ix.  6,  7  :  Jeremiah  xxiii.  dii.  11    '  Thai 

under  lit-  reign  over  them  they  should  all  be  perfectly 

tified  and  crowned  with  ad  hap] 

"  This  ie  the  covenant  that  I  will  make  with  the  fa 
rael.     Ailer  tho  die- 

ion) — saitli  tlic  Lord,  I  will  put  my  law  in  their 
inward  parts, and  write  it  in  th<  ;  and  will 

be  their  God,  and  they  shall  he  my  people.    And  tiny 
shall  teach  no  more  every  man  his  neighbor,  ai 
man  hi-  brother,  Baying,  Know 

thall  all  know  me.  from  tl.  'thrinuv 

f  them,  saith  the  Lord  :  for  I  will  i  their 

iniquity,  and  I  will  remember  their  ." — 

miah  xxxi.  33,  34;  Lsaiah  x i .  *. » :  lxv.  IT  :!•">.     1. 
That  they  should  continue  in  holiness  ami  b 
under  his  reign  through  an  endl< 
tions.    •"Then  will  I  Bprinkle  dean  water  upon 
ami  ye  shall   be   (Iran  :   from   all  your  lilthi: 

from  all  your  idols  will  1  you.     A  new  hi 

1      ive  you,  and  a  new  spirit  will  I  put  within 

yon  ;  and  I  v.  ill  take  away  the  stony  heart  out  of  y OUT 

!  1  will  give  yon  a  heart  of  fleSh,     An<l  I  will 

put  my  spirit  within  you,  and  i  to  wall 

P  my  ju  I  do 

them.     Ami  ye  Bhall  dwell  in  the  land  which 


THE  (JNFALLEN  a.nd  REDEEMED  i.\  ONE  BMPIBE.    105 

to  your  fathers  ;  and  ye  Bhall  be  my  people,  and  I  will 
be  your  God."  Bzek.  xx.wi.  2-1-28.  -And  theyshall 
dwell  in  the  land  that  I  have  given  unto  Jacob,  my 
servant,  wherein  your  fathers  have  dwelt,  and  they 
shall  dwell  therein,  theyt  and  their  children,  and  their 
children's  children  POBBVBB  ;  and  my  servant  David 
shall  be  their  prince  forever."  Ezek.  xxxvii.  25,  20- 
2-i  ;  26-28.  These  are  the  great  blessings  that  were 
promised  to  the  Israelites  in  the  glad  tidings  in 
Christ,  and  they  are  the  blessings  therefore  of  which 
the  Gentiles  are  to  be  fellow  heirs,  and  fellow  parta- 
kers under  him.  That  they  are  to  share  in  them 
under  his  reign  is,  accordingly,  clearly  taught  in  other 
passages  in  the  New  Testament.  Tims,  1st,  that  tho 
(lent  iles  are  to  be  his  people  and  he  is  to  be  their 
God,  is  foreshown  Rev.  xxi.  3.  On  the  descent  of 
the  New  Jerusalem  from  heaven,  a  great  voice  was 
heard,  saying,  "Behold  the  tabernacle  of  God  is  ^era 
tuv  di 'Opuvuv,  with  mankind,  and  he  will  dwell  with 
them,  and  they  shall  be  his  people,  and  he  will  be 
their  God."  2d.  Christ  is  to  reign  over  them  as 
their  King.  "  And  the  seventh  angel  sounded,  and 
there  were  great  voices  in  heaven,  saying,  The  king- 
dom of  this  world  is  become  our  Lord's  and  his 
Christ's,  and  he  shall  reign  through  tho  ages  of  ages." 
Rev.  xi.  15.  3.  They  are  all  to  be  perfectly  holy  and 
blessed.  "  Who  should  not  fear  thee,  0  Lord,  and 
glorify  thy  name?  For  thou  only  art  holy;  for  all 
the  nations  shall  come  and  worship  before  thee,  be- 
cause thy  judgments  are  made  manifest."  Rev.  xv.  4. 

r,* 


106 

hall    walk    in  the  light  ol 

their  glory  and  honor  into  it.    And  th<  of  it 

shall  imt  be  shut  at  all  1  night  indeed  there  i- 

and  tlu-y  shall  bring  the 
hon-  Etev.  xxi.  2  1. — 

ly  and  happy  under  his 
i  like  the  [sraelil  •ration  i 

I  ;..<!  will  dwell  with  1  -hall 

be  his  peo]  I  I  be  with  t! 

their  God.     \    L Ood  Bhall  i  from 

their  eyes  :  and  there  shall  1m-  no  more  death,  neither 
ing,  neither  shall  there  be  any  moro 
pain  :  1<T  the  former  thi  away. 

he  thai  Bal  npon  tin-  throne  said,  Behold,  I  make  all 
things  new."  B  >v.  wi. 
pure  river  of  water  of  life,  ol< 

nut  of  tin*  thron<        t.    1  and  of  the  Lamb.    Jn  the 
midst  of  the  -  I  it,  and  on  either  Bide  «•}'  tin-  river 

there  tl.  f  life,  w hich  ham  twelve  mai 

of  fruits,  and  yielded  her  fruit  every  month:  and  the 

rthe  tree  were  for  the  healing  of  the  nati 
And  there  shall  ho  no  more  curse  :  bn1  the  thron 

I  and  of  the  Lamb  shall  he  in  it.  and  his  servants 

Bhall  serve  him.    And  they  shall  see  his i  I  his 

name  shall  It  in  th<  i  .  and  they  Bhall  reign 

.  xxii.  1    ."i.     And   Paul   indi- 
-  in  connection  with  tin-  have  qu 

in  respect  t<>  tin-  purp  I  tod  thus  to  maki 

tiles  fellow  lairs  with   tl       I 


Tin:  ONFALLBM  and  REDEEMED  in  ONE  EMPIRE.     LOT 

mises  made  to  them,  thai  the  glory  of  redemption  is  to 
redound  to  God  in  the  church  through  all  the  gener- 

t ions  of  the  age  of  tlio  ages,"  in  which  he  exhibits  the 
church  as  to  continue  in  successive  generations  for- 
ever. "  Now  nnt.)  1 1 i in  who  is  able  to  do  exceedingly 
above  all  which  wo  ask  or  think,  according  to  the 
power  which  worketh  in  us  ;  to  him  be  glory  in  the 
church  by  Christ  Jesus  through  all  the  generations 
of  the  age  of  ages,  amen."  Eph.  iii.  20,  21. 

Of  these  great  blessings  then  the  Gentiles  are  to 
be  fellow  heirs  and  partakers  with  the  Israelites  ;  and 
it  i<  by  their  being  together  thus  freed  from  sin  and 
its  penalties,  and  brought  into  one  community  of  per- 
fectly redeemed  persons  that  the  inhabitants  of  the 
earth  are  to  be  reconciled  to  God,  and  admitted  into 
the  holy  and  happy  empire  under  Christ,  into  which 
are  to  be  gathered  all  the  other  orders  of  obedient 
creatures  in  the  universe. 

Such  is  the  great  scheme  of  administration  which 
Paul  calls  the  mystery  of  God's  purpose,  by  whieh, 
on  the  one  side,  all  the  hosts  of  the  onfallen  worlds 
a  re  to  become  the  willing,  joyous,  and  adoring  sub j< 
of  Christ's  sceptre;  and  the  inhabitants  of  this  sphere, 
on  the  other,  are  to  be  restored  from  their  fallen  con- 
dition to  perfect  holiness  and  blessedness  under  his 
reign  over  them,  and  the  race  again  admitted  as  fit 
members  of  his  holy  empire.  No  wonder  the  apostle 
contemplated  this  great  scheme  of  the  redemption  of 
our  world  with  such  fervid  interest !  No  wonder  that 
he  regarded  the  revelation  of  it,  after  having  been 


i.  TEE  BOLT. 

Kid  id  God  from  eternity,  aa  fonning 

history  of  the  earth  and  of  heaven  I     N         ider  that 

he  fell  that  the  knowledge  of  it 

:  ( 'hrist's  work  :  thai  it  is  only  in  the 
•  of  it.  tliat  the  riches  oi 

•  w  hich  it  displays  can  1  j  and  that  a  glean) 

f  the  bound] 
results  1 1,  :  i 1 1 .lt  from  it. 

It  is  thus  seen  that  the  administration  Christ  is  now 
cising  <»n  the  throne  of  heaven,  has  1  re- 

ference to  other  orders  ofintellig  and  is  prepa- 

ratory to  a  new  dispensation  over  this  world,  under 
which  he  is  to  reign  here  in  person,  i 
from  its  fallen  condition  to  holiness  and  happin 

and   admit   it    to  a   place   in   the  and  blissful 

empire  in  which  bis  holy  buI  be  anil 


Tin:   ORDERS   OF   INTELLIGENCES    INNUMERABLE.       L09 


CHAPTER    X. 

THE  VUMBERLESSNBSa  0*  RANKS  AMD  nOSTS  OVKB  WHOM  CHRIST  IS 
FXAl.TF.lt  ;  THE  WHOLE  CIRCUIT  OF  THE  ORBS  PEOPLED  BY  INTEL- 
USES 

Ark  the  inhabitants  of  the  heavenly  orbs,  however, 

of  such  rank  and  numbers  as  to  invest  the  exaltation 
of  Christ  over  them  with  high  importance  ?  Is  there 
reason  to  believe  that  the  worlds  generally  that  wheel 
through  the  boundless  realms  of  space,  are  the  abodes 
of  intelligent  beings  ?  This  has  of  late  been  denied, 
and  under  the  pretext  of  science  ;  but  against  the 
dictates  of  reason  and  the  teachings  of  the  divine 
word.  Though  the  Scriptures  do  not  give  us  any 
minute  information  respecting  the  natures  and  num- 
bers of  the  intelligences  that  inhabit  other  parts  of 
the  universe,  they  teach  expressly  and  abundantly 
that  there  are  numerous  orders  of  intelligences,  be- 
sides those  of  our  race,  and  indicate  that  the  orbs 
generally  are  occupied  by  them. 

Thus  God  in  his  answer  to  Job  out  of  the  whirl- 
wind, represents  that  there  were  stars  that  were  oc- 
cupied by  intelligences,  and  sons  of  God,  the  tenants 


IKl  I! 

probably  of  other  worlds,  I  ha1  had  a  ki  of 

ition  of  our  earth,  thai  loratioo  and 

thanksgiving  to  him  for  it,  and  probably  a  joyous 
w elcome  t<»  the  pair  \\  1 1  < »  were  m 
aew-formed  Bph<  re.    "  Where  wasl  thou  when  I  laid 

foundations  of  the  earth  ?     1 1  if  thou 

understanding.     Who  hath  laid  the  m 
if  thou  knowest?    Or  who  hath  Btretched  the  line 
u] m >ii  it?    Whereupon  i  foundations  thereof 

tied  ?     ( >r  v<  ho  laid  the  cornei 
when  the  morning  Btars  Bang  together,  and  all 
Bona  of  God  Bhouted  forjoyf1    Chap,  xxxviii.  4  7. 
The  morning  Btars  were  the  Btars  in  the  eastern 
when  at  the  fial  of  the  Almighty  the  earth  leaped 
into  being,  and  met  the  first  flash  of  tl. 
They  were  a  vaal  host  then,  whether  they  I 
to  <>ur  oloud  of  worlds,  or  to  others  stationed  in  the 
distant  realms  of  space ;  and  were  peopled  with  in- 
telligences who  either  witnessed,  or  were  n 
quainted  with  the  birth  of  the  new  group  of  worlds 
to  n  hich  <>ur  earth  belongs.    Here  . 
also,  intelligences  of  different  and  perhaps  inferior 
orders,  to  whom  information  of  the  creation  of  our 
heavens  and  earth  may  have  been  communicated  by 

lie  messengers,  and  they  also  through  all  their 
ranks  shouted  for  joy.    This  passage  breathed  from 
the  lips  of  Jehovah  himself,  thus  announo 
that  th«-  materia]  universe  ii  ante- 

rior   to    the    Creation   Of  OUr    heavens   and    earth,  ami 

occupied  by  intelligences  of  various  i  thai  this 


IN  THE  UNTVEB8E   l.\MMi:i:.\i;i.K.  Ill 

06 w  creation  was  made  known  to  them,  and  thai  they 
Bang  homage  to  the  Almighty  for  the  work,  and  shout- 
ed congratulation  to  the  happy  beings  formed  in  his 
image  who  were  to  be  its  tenants  ;  and  it  Implies 
that  the  Dumber  of  those  heavenly  intelligences  was 
immense. 

That  there  were  other  intelligences  besides  our 
first  parents,  both  sinful  and  holy,  in  existence  at  the 
fall,  is  shown  by  the  fact  that  it  was  through  the 
agency  of  the  great  fallen  arch-angel  that  Eve  was 
betrayed  into  sin  ;  and  that  holy  beings  of  an  order 
called  Cherubim  were  stationed  at  the  gate  of  Para- 
dise on  the  expulsion  of  Adam  and  Eve  to  prevent 
their  return  there. 

Of  the  existence  of  angelic  intelligences,  and  of 
their  frequent  visits  to  our  wTorld  on  offices  of  mercy 
or  judgment,  and  agencies  in  the  administration  of 
providence,  wo  have  ample  testimonies  in  the  Scrip- 
tures. They  appeared  to  Abraham.  They  delivered 
Lot  out  of  Sodom.  A  host  of  them  met  Jacob  on  his 
return  from  Padanaram.  An  angel  destroyed  tho 
people  ol*  Israel  with  a  pestilence,  because  of  David's 
sin  in  cumbering  them.  An  angd  destroyed  the 
army  of  Senacherib.  When  the  king  of  Syria  at- 
tempted to  seize  Elisha,  a  host  of  horses  and  chariots 
of  fire  filled  the  mountains  around  him  ;  and  the  chari- 
ots of  God,  we  are  told  by  the  Psalmist,  are  twenty 
thousand,  and  thousands  of  angels ;  and  they  encamp 
round  about  them  that  fear  him,  and  deliver  them  out 
of  their  troubles.     An  angel  announced  to  Mary  that 


111! 

should  l  • 

of  fti  his    1-irth  to  the    shejihi 

mini  aim  after  bis  tempi 

1    him   in   hi  in    the 

■  1  rolled  the  om  the  Bepnlchre  at  h  ii 

sun.  proclai] 

his  return  from  heaven  i  arth 

at  a  future  time. 
Thai   then 

rank  !    niimh.  ;    in   the 

Bible.    Tims  they  are  distinguished  by  the  different 
titles  of  principalities,  authorities,  p< 
and  thrones,  Eph*L  2    :  I      .i.lt;:  which  that 

they  are  of  diffei  -  and  bo] 

And  that  their  h  - 

vision  of  the  Ancienl  of  d  j  s,  Dan.  vii. !»,  10,  an 
the  Father  and  the  Lamb,  Rev.  v.    En  the  former  a 
thousand  th  ministered  onto  him,  and  ten 

thousands  ten-thousands,  that  is  ■  myriad  <»i"  myriad-, 
hL  :.    Th(  se  numbers  arc  indefinite,  in- 
asmuch as  the  number  of  the  thousands  thai  wen 

posted  a  thousand  1:  I  the  numhiT  of  Inv : 

that  peated  a  myriad  of  tunc 

bed.     They  may  have   been   many   tli  and 

many  myriad-.    Taking  the  number  of  thorn 
be  multiplied  by  a  thousand  at  the  lowest  number, 
nd  the  thousand  th 
and  taking  the  myriads  thai  oltiplied 

by  a  myriad,  in  like  manner  2  .000, 

and  multiplied  by  10,000,  tin  _  i 


IX  TlIK   UNIVERSE   l\'NTMFi;\::  11:; 

were  at  the  lowesl  number  therefore  thai  the  lan- 
guage can  express,  two  hundred  and  two  millions  of 
angels  present  on  that  occasion.  Bui  in  the  vision, 
Rev.  \.  LI,  of  the  reception  by  the  Lamb  of  the  seal- 
ed book  from  the  Father  there  were  thousands  of 
thousands,  and  myriads  of  myriads  present,  which  at 
the  lowest  numbers  the  terms  ran  express,  wore  four 
hundred  and  tour  millions;  and  they  may  have  1 
many  times  that  number  :  thousands  and  myriads  of 
millions.  Great,  however,  as  their  numbers  were, 
they  are  not  to  be  regarded  as  all  the  angels  of  God, 
but  only  as  representatives  of  the  immeasurably 
greater  numbers  of  their  orders  ;  in  the  same  manner 
as  the  four  living-  creatures,  and  the  four  and  twenty 
elders  were  representatives  of  all  of  our  race  who 
had  been  redeemed  out  of  every  tribe,  and  tongue, 
and  people,  and  nation,  amounting  probably  to  many 
millions  ;  and  as  other  symbols  in  the  Apocalypse, 
such  as  the  horsemen  of  the  seals,  the  woman  clothed 
with  the  sun,  the  angel  clothed  with  a  cloud,  the  wild 
beast  often  horns, the  two  witnesses,  and  the  woman 
Babylon,  represent  great  combinations  and  BUi 
Bions  of  men.  And  if  used  in  that  relation,  how  im- 
mense the  hosts  to  which  they  belong?  The  revela- 
tion was  made  to  them  as  truly  as  it  was  to  the 
-tie  John,  and  they  may  have  borno  no  greater 
proportion  to  the  countless  millions  of  their  orders, 
than  John  did  to  the  vast  crowds  of  mankind  to 
whom  through  him  the  revelation  ha  commu- 

nicated. 


1H         th;. 
Bui 

in  the  heavenly  worlds,  rly  indicated  by 

their  titles,  thn  principalis 

authorities!  w bich  are  the  names  of  p 
inthority  over  other  intelligei 
and  indicate  therefore  thai  there  I  ber  rani, 

intelligences  inferior  to  them   in   nature,  that 
place. l  under  thi  ir  i\* ■■■■ .     And  this 
by  the  name  angel:  which  is  the  name  of  their  i 
<»!•  function.    A;  literally  a  m< 

messenger,  thai  is  an  intelligence  bearin 
Buch  as  tin-  will  or  oommand  of  God,  is  of  cow 

r  to  an  intelligence  or  to  u  A 

spiritual  beii  mmunicatioD  from  a 

itual  being,  Lb  not  sent  t"  Btocks  and  si  i  un- 

conscious unintelligent  mat:     .  in  tin-  natii' 

hi-  offici  i  whom  he  ia  a  bearer  of  i 

must  be  intelligent  1  T  .  that 

there  is  such  an  order  "1'  intelli 
countless  Dumbers,  i-  itseli  ^  direcj  proof  that  there 
arc  other  orders  of  intelligent  beings  <»t*  inferior  na- 
tures, of  infinitely  ■  numbers  ;  and  i 
probable  accordingly  thai  th  ait  of  worlds 
that  lill  the  realm                       peopled  by  such  r 

and  ranks. 

And  this  is  confirmed  by  sev<  bich 

exhibit  the  universe  of  WOr] 

that  worship  God.    Such  i-  Nciiciuiah  ix.  6.    uThou, 
thou  an  .'  !i  alone.    Thou  bast  made 

the  heaven  of  be  I  ith  all  their  irth, 


ix  Tin:  DNIYEBSE  i\.\1'Mi:::ai:i.i:.  115 

and  all  that  are  therein;  the  seas, and  all  that  are 
therein;  and  thou  preserves!  them  all:  and  the  host 

of  heaven  worshippeth  thee."  "  Heaven,''  and  "  the 
heaven  of  heavens,"  are   not    Bpace  :    for  Bpace  is  not 

created;  bui  the  material  worlds,  the  countless  orba 

that  till  the  immeasurable  realms  of  space;  and  their 
host  is  their  intelligent  inhabitants.  This  is  seen 
from  their  discrimination  from  the  orbs  themselves. 
The  creation  of  their  host  is  exhibited  as  a  different 
act  from  the  creation  of  the  worlds  themselves,  in  the 

same  manner  as  the  creation  of  the  organized  and 
living  things  of  the  earth  and  the  sea.  was  a  different 
work  from  the  creation  of  the  earth  itself.  And  their 
host  worships  Jehovah,  which  is  the  act  only  of  intel- 
ligent beings.  The  passage  thus  teaches  that  the 
vast  train  of  worlds  that  wheel  their  circuits  in  the 
heights  and  depths  around  us,  considered  as  one, 
have  an  intelligent  population,  that  belongs  to  them 
as  one,  that  is  distributed  therefore  throughout  their 
groups,  and  that  worships  Jehovah.  In  other  words, 
the  vast  circuit  of  worlds  that  surrounds  us,  is  peo- 
pled by  intelligences,  that  vary  in  nature  according 
to  the  spheres  which  they  occupy,  and  that  pay  a 
joyous  and  adoring  homage  to  God. 

There  i.-  a  similar  indication  of  this  great  truth  in 
Psalm  czlviii.  2—1,  where  the  angels  are  distinguished 
from  the  other  hosts  of  Jehovah,  and  both  from  the 
material  worlds  which  they  inhabit.  "Praise  ye  him 
all  his  angels,  praise  ye  him  all  his  hosts.  Praise  ye 
him  sun  and  moon  ;  praiso  him  all  ye  stars  of  light. 


1 L6        tui:  ranks 

•    him  yeheai  ills  that 

\\  bee!  in  the  rem 

thai  are  above  the  !  ndfl  thai  float  in 

the  I  four  atmosphi  ■■  his  hosts"  thus 

differ  both  from  th< 

from  the  .  who  l  I 

other  ranks  of  hi 
a  different  order  fin 
doubtlee  ir  familii 

fitted  for  their 

Tlii-  is  still  more  clearly  intimated  in  Psalm  i 
l'.»  21:  "The  Lord  hath  prepared  his  throni 
heavens,  and  hie  kingdom  rnletb  over  all.     B 
Lord  ye  hie  angels  that  excel  in  e 
commandments,   hearkening  onto  the  voice  of 

word,      i  1  all  hi-  lis   mini 

that  do  bis  will.      151  I  all   his  works  in  all 

places  <>f  his  dominion.11     Here  I  Is  might; 

strength  are  distinguished  from  his  oth 
ats,    They  are  his  mes  i,  who  Li 

the  voice  «,('  his  command,  and  bear  his  will  with 
mighty  energy  to  the  orders  of  intellij  horn 

mis  them.  All  his  ].  a  who  do 

will,  arc  distinguished  not  only  from  the  a' 

celling  in  Btrength  who  arc  his   ! 

from   all    his  works   in   all   places   of   his   dominioi 

empire  ;  and  they  cither  denote  all  the  other 
of  intelli  in  the  oi 

ibable,  I  who  arc  intrusted  with 

authority  in   the   different    p  the   divine  ki 


l\  THE  UNIVERSE  INNUMERABLE.  1  IT 

dom  over  races  of  ranks  of  inferior  natures,  wh  i 
in  thai  relatioD  his  ministers  and  do  bis  will  ;  and  are 
the  ranks  denoted  in  the  New  Testament  by  thrones, 

and   principalities,  and   powers,  and  authorities,  and 

dominions,  who  probably  never  leave  the  Bpheres  of 
their  authority  and  pass  like  angels  to  other  orbfi 
to  the  divine  presence.    And  if  that  be  the  clae 

which  all  his  hosts  of  ministers  belong,  then  all  his 
works,  all  lie  has  created,  that  is,  all  his  creatures  in 
all  places  of  his  dominion,  are  all  inferior  orders  of 
intelligences  throughout  liis  illimitable  realms  ;  and 
this  is  indicated  by  their  discrimination  from  the 
places,  that  i-  the  worlds  in  which  they  exist.  The 
passage  thus  clearly  teaches  that  there  are  hosts  of 
intelligences  of  different  orders  from  the  angels,  and 
that  they  are  distributed  throughout  the  range  of  the 
material  universe. 

We  have  thus  the  most  ample  proof  from  the  word 
of  God  that  the  whole  circuit  of  worlds,  that  wheel 
around  us  daily,  is  peopled  by  intelligences  of  various 
orders,  and  that  the  exaltation  therefore  of  Christ 
over  them,  by  which  they  are  brought  to  recognize 
and  worship  him  in  his  union  with  our  nature,  is  an 
event  of  the  utmost'  significance,  and  bespeaks  in  a 
most  impressive  manner  the  greatness  of  his  work  in 
our  behalf,  and  the  vastness  and  grandeur  of  the  re- 
sults that  are  to  spring  from  it.  With  what  joy  must 
the  hosts  of  those  untallen  worlds  welcome  his  reign 
over  them!  With  what  rapture  must  his  presence, 
if  he  visits  their  BUlless  abodes  in  his  glorified   form. 


1  1  -    mi;  ui:i>i;i:>  ur  in n:i.Li«.i 

nil  their  beartt  I     Wh  *  i  b  and  i  I 

from  their  Upa  as  tl  bliss 

of  hit  ^template  tl  :'  his 

.  w  hich  not  only  ill  the  holj 
«,i*  tl  united  in  one  happy  empire,  hoi 

man  himself  u  to  l  from  the  dominion  and 

corse  of  sin,  and  the  earth  again  admitted  to  wheel  in 
harmony  among  the  nnfallen  worlds  though 


ALL  BEINGS  ACQUAINTED  WITH  CHRIST'S  WORK.      L19 


CHAPTER    XI. 

THE  INHABITANTS  OF  THE  HEAVENLY  WOBLDS  ABE  MADE  ACQUAINTED 
WITH  IHE  WOBK  OF  REDEMPTION. 

That  a  knowledge  of  the  work  of  redemption  is 
communicated  to  all  orders  of  intelligences,  and  that 
they  are  greatly  influenced  by  it.  is  clear  from  the 
feci  that  Christ  is  exalted  to  the  throne  of  the  uni- 
verse, and  that  all  intelligent  creatures  are  required 
to  recognize  and  worship  him  in  that  station  as  their 
Lord  and  Creator.  For  in  order  to  their  acknowledg- 
ment of  him  in  his  two-fold  nature  as  Jehovah  the 
Word,  and  glorifying  the  Father  for  appointing  him 
to  his  mediatorship  and  investing  him  with  authority 
over  them,  they  must  be  made  acquainted  with  the 
reason  of  his  incarnation,  the  nature  of  his  work  as 
Saviour,  and  the  issues  thai  are  to  Bpring  from  it. — 
Their  homage  to  be  suited  on  the  one  side,  to  their 
rectitude  and  wisdom  as  holy  intelligences,  and  on 
the  other,  to  the  majesty  of  his  perfections,  and  the 
grandeur  of  the  redemption  he  accomplishes,  must  be 
founded  do  a  knowledge  of  what  he  docs  and  is  to  do 
in  his  office,  in  all  its  relations,  and  a  sense  of  the  infi- 
nite wisdom  and  love  and  power  which  it  displays. 


120  mi:  im! 

l.  li   impli<  -.  thei 
quainted  with  the  nature  of  the  beii 
demption  he  became  iucarni 

Ited  to  the  throne  of  the  universe.    To  in 
work,  they  hum  know  the  peculiarities  of  man  a* 
an  intelligent  ci  •  I  be  rank  he  hold  \  the 

•us  ordi  '  the  law 

under  which  be  waa  originally  phv 
the   condition   of  alienation   and   misery   to  w liirli 
it  brought  him,  and  the  death  and  endless  ruin  which 
it  draws  in  its  train.     JI  raid  they  appre 

the  depth  of  Chri  lion;  the  wonder 

his  I 

2.  They  most  be  made  aware  of  the  various  forma 
which  sin  assumes  in  mankind,  the  debasing  in 
it  as  them,  and  the  mil  ith  which  it 

whelms  them  :  and  this  requires  that  they  Bhould 
know  the  peculiarities  ol  man's  nature  by  which  he 
has  offspring :  the  relationships  in  which 
Buch  as  those  <»f  the  family  and  of  social  and  civil  - 

ety.  out  of  which  bis  duties  Bpring  :   tin-  laws  that 

imposed  on  him  by  God,  and  the  pi 

exercised  over  him.     Sow  else  can  they  underst 

what    the    duties    of   mm    are,  wl  telii}>ta! 

are  by  Which  they  ar  ..I  what  the  moti 

are  that  Bhould  restrain  them  from  evil,  and  prompt 
them  1? 

are  made  acquainted    with   tie 

I       'a  administration  over  mankind. and  th  luct 

under  it  ;  their  universal  revolt  from  bis  Bwai  :  the 


ACQUAINTED  with  CHRIST'S  work.  1  J 1 

awful  senselessness  and  impiety  of  their  false  reli- 
gions; the  eagerness  and  passion  with  which  they 
have  worshipped  as  gods  the  great  objects  of  nature, 
idols,  demons,  beasts  and  reptiles ;  the  ferocious  pas- 
sions thai  have  reigned  in  their  breasts  toward  each 
other,  and  the  infuriate  slaughters  and  miseries  they 
have  inflicted  on  each  other  in  battles,  in  the  sack  of 
cities,  in  the  devastation  of  fields,  and  in  consigning 
the  conquered  and  helpless  to  bondage  and  toil;  and 
all  the  countless  atrocities  that  mark  their  history. — 
For  how  else  can  they  understand  tin1  amazing  de- 
basement to  which  mankind  have  sunk  ;  the  selfishness 
and  malignity  oi'  their  affections  towTard  each  other  ; 
and  the  boundless  miseries  they  have  inflicted  on  one 
another  for  the  gratification  of  their  pride,  their  ava- 
rice, their  ambition,  and  their  revenge  ?  Of  all  the 
spectacles  this  world  exhibits,  there  is  none,  perhaps, 
that  strikes  the  holy  inhabitants  of  other  orbs  with 
deeper  astonishment  and  horror,  than  the  ceaseless 
wars  which  men  wage  with  one  another ;  their  thirst 
for  each  other's  blood,  and  the  fiendish  joy  with  which 
they  consign  each  other  by  thousands  and  millions  to 
slaughter  on  the  battle  field,  and  count  their  prowess 
and  skill  in  destroying  each  other  of  their  chief  glory, 
li  is  in  this  pail  of  his  history  that  it  is  seen  what  an 
enemy  man  is  to  himself,  M  ii  is  in  his  worship  of  de- 
mons, idols  and  reptiles,  what  an  alien  he  is  from  God. 
4.  They  must  understand  the  scope  of  Christ's  me- 
diatorial work  ;  the  reasois  of  his  incarnation  ;  the 

office  of  his  death  ;  the  principle  on  which  jnstilica- 

6 


[22  'llii:   I\H  AIM! 

tion  ted  through  him  :  I  hich 

him  into  which 
the  penevi  ed  and  pai  ;  and  the  im- 

morta]  life  of  holiness  and  bl  i  which  they 

I  that 

the  method  ition  is  worthy  :  thai  he 

mail  bains  in  it  his  right  I  truth,  whil 

:isea  his  mercy  :  tliat  he  secnres  and  advai 
the  well-being  of  all  Lis  unfallen  subjects,  whil* 

COUntle  :  .11. n  to  holh 

happiness  ? 

5.  They  must  know  what  the  reception  is  which 
Christ's  1 1 1 * •  <  1  i : 1 1 i « » 1 1  has  nut  from  mankind  ;  the  blind- 

and  aversion  with  which  it  I  d  disbelii 
and              :  :  the  disdain  and  hatred  with  which  jus- 
tification and  Life  through  his  M 1  are  spun 

boldness  and  impiety  with  which  tin-  d 

3  of  his  religion  arc  j  1.  and  blended  with 

worships,  the  pride  and  audacity  with  which  his 

office  and  rights  ;i-  mecliator  arc  usurped; and  the 
and  malignity  with  which  his  followers  arc  h 
and  slain.     For  bo*  an  the} 

what  an  enemy  to  God  man  is,  and  what  i 
to  be  me  t->  accomplish  hi-  ition  t<- 1 

nhcdidicr.  and  hi 

5.  T     v  musl  know  something  of  the  greal  purp 
of  < I  cting  the  redemption  which  is  I 

complished  through  Chrisl  :  the  office  of  the 

administration  under  which  men  are  put  t«»  trial. 

led  t"  aho*  their  ho] 


•'  unted  wnii  Christ's  work.  L23 

tioD  thai  is  to  follow  tins,  when  Ohrisl  is  to  come, 
assume  the  cm  |>i  it  of  the  world,  and  bring  all  nations 
to  partake  of  his  salvation  :  and  the  endless  round  of 
ii  which  his  redemptive  work  Is  to  be  con- 
tinned.  For  how  else  can  thej  appreciate  the  riches 
of  the  wisdom  and  love  which  it  displays,  and  the 
grandeur  of  the  results  thai  are  to  spring  from  it  ? 

The  homage,  in  short,  of  these  august  beings,  ex- 
alted in  intelligence,  delight  in  God.  and  interest  in 
the  wonders  <>t'  his  reign  immeasurably  above  bis  chil- 
dren here,  musl  in  order  to  accord  with  the  dignity 
of  their  nature  and  their  relations  to  him,  he  founded 
on  a  just  and  comprehensive  view  of  Christ's  work, 
the  ruin  from  which  he  rescues  man,  and  the  glory 
to  which  lie  exalts  him.  And  the  fulness  of  their 
knowdedge  and  the  glow  of  love  and  adoration  with 
which  it  inspires  them,  arc  beautifully  indicated  in 
the  ascriptions  of  the  angelic  hosts  on  his  assumption 
in  the  Apocalypse  of  the  oflice  of  revealer  to  the  church 
of  the  scheme  of  his  administration  over  the  world. 
!  1  beheld,  and  1  heard  the  voice  of  many  angels 
in  the  circuit  round  the  throne  and  of  the  living  crea- 
tures, and  of  the  elders,  and  their  number  was  myri- 
ads of  myriads,  and  thousands  of  thousands  :  Baying 
with  a  loud  voice.  Worthy  i-  the  Lamb  who  was  slain, 
to    i  power,  and    riches,   and    wisdom,  and 

strength,  and  lienor,  and  glory, and  blessing/5  Rev.  v. 
11,  12.  These  ascriptions  thus  include  every  title  to 
authority  and  fa  i;it  belongs  to   God.     They 

are  acknowledgments  of  the  Lamb  as  Jehovah,  and 


UI  TBI  IMl 

I    his 

right*  and  displayed  his  love  in  a  manner  worthy 
In-  infill  od  that  plac 

nu  intelligent  subjectfl  under  obligation  I 
glorifj   him.     His  worth  ifl  oommei  with  his 

station  and  his  claims.  Be  has  ;i  titl<-  t-»  all  the  bon- 
they  can  render  him.  And  this  bespeaks  a  know- 
o  of  his  \\  hole  work  .  mli- 

tion  of  '  r    \\  horn  he  di<  lorn, 

righteow  I  hod  of  then 

demption  :  of  t!  r  by  which  thej 

rated;  of  the  means  by  which  they  a  bified 

ami   made  to  verify   th<  I  ion   in   obedient 

.   the  rewarda  with  which   I 
cn.v 
to  pnrsne  through  bis  eternal  reign.     For  how  ol 

can  they  kimw  that  there  is  no  defect  in  his  pro- 
ire  V      Bow,  if  without  t!,  an  actual 

acquaintance  with  it  :   how,  if  left  in  uncertainty 
dark]  old  they  offer  him  such  positive  ascrip- 

tions ol   infinite  worthi  ad   how  could    that 

homage  meet  hi-  their 

intellects  and  hearts,  prompted  by  an  intimate  in- 

t  i<>ii  ami  coin  j  ire  hen-ion  of  his  ways  '!      V><v  I 

are  not  merely  spectators  of  his  administration,  but 

.<1  a  share  in  conducting  it.  ami 

filled  important  .  the  protection  of  those  who 

1.  and   in  the  punishment  of  th 
ish. 

And    thifl   indi<  office  which  the 


ACQU.\]\ti:i>  with  OHBIST'S  WOBK.  125 

emplifications  thai  have  hitherto  taken  place  under 
the  divine  administration   fill.     For  how  could   the 
angelic  orders  have  Buch  a  knowledge  of  the  wisdom, 
righteousness,  and  grace  of  Christ's  work  ;  how  could 
they  know  what  the  condition  of  man  is ;  the  depth 
of  His  alienation  from  God  ;  and  the  greatness  of  the 
power,  and   pity,  and  love   that  arc   requisite  to  his 
redemption  ;  and  the  holiness,  wisdom,  and  gracious- 
Q6S8  of  all  the  methods  that  are  employed  for  his  de- 
liverance ;   if  no  sneh  experiment  as  has  been  wrought 
in   the  divine   administration   through  the  six  thou- 
sand years  of  his  existence,  had  been  made  of  man, 
and  of  the   means  of  his   restoration   to  holiness,  in 
which  all  the  great  facts  on  which  the  work  of  salva- 
tion proceeds  are  so  shown  forth  and  verified,  as  to 
give  those  lofty  intelligences  a  perfect  comprehen- 
sion of  it  ?     Their  information  is  real  and  direct ;  not 
derived  and  founded  on  testimony.     It  wTas  obtained 
by  the  actual  observation  of  mankind  and  God's  gov- 
ernment over  them,  not  received  by  revelation.     For 
they  are  all  ministering  spirits  sent  forth  to  minister 
for  them  who  Bhall  ho  heirs  of  salvation,  Heb.  i.  13- 
11.     "The  Mosaic  law  was  ordained  in  their  hands 
we  are  told,"  Gal.  iii.  1'.*:  and  the  world  in  the  pre- 
age,  it  Beems  to  be  indicated,  Heb.  ii.  5,  is  sub- 
ject to  them,  or  the  sphere  of  their  special  ministry. 
They  gather  their  knowledge  accordingly  by  an  ac- 
tual presence  in  the  scene,  the  exercise  of  a  ceaseless 
ministry  of  mercy  or  of  judgment,  and  the  direct  ob- 
servation of  the  great   exhibitions  which  it  presents 


L26         Tin:  i.\HA!:n 

of  man  and 

•   of  this  fact,  thai  a  time  will  at   L< 
when  th<  iplificatioim  of  m 

ind  comp  tli.it  u ill  be  commi 

w  ith  the  of  the  oni  saay 

thereafter  )  fcion  end  re- 

ption  be  extended  to  all  1 1  j « -  nations  and  families 
<.i*  the  earth,  without  any  danger  that  it  will  not  be 
justly  understood,  and 
due  for  it  given  I 
The  exaltation  of  Chriai  to  the  throne  of  the  uni- 
nbjection  of  all  the  orders  of  hoi; 
to  hi  thus  a  most  important  feature  ih  his 

mediatorial  work,  and  1  in  a  Bublime  manner 

infinite  significance.     Every  holy  being  in 
n 1 1 i \  sons!  interest  in  it.  holy 

intelligence,  whatever  may  }  ::k.  the  wot] 

inhabits,  or  the  Bphere  in  which 
quainted  with  it  ;  is  brought  into  an  intu 

to  t1        -        in  his  human   nature  :  ami  is  call 

cognize  and  adore  him  in  it  as  Jehovah  th<   1/ 
Word,  the  Creator  of  all  worlds  and  ci 

the   Saviour  of  sinful   men.      And  in  whit  a  daZJ 

light  it  Bets  forth  it<  spotless  rectitude  and  the  inii-. 
oite  riches  of  it-  wisdom  and  love,  that  it  is  thus 
submitted  t->  the  minute  and  Bearching  in  a  of 

all  his  mora]  subj  1  that  the  moat  piercing  in- 

tellig  i  tnpire — those    I 

whose  glance  is  the  ist  and  most  oomprehen- 

l'Ut   only  find  in  it  fresh 


A<\TAINTKI>  WITH  CHRIST'S  WORK.  127 

19  of  admiration  of  his  boundless  wisdom,  and 
new  and  more  transporting  signals  of  the  riches  of 
lii<  skill  and  love!  And  how  glorious  it  is  to  him 
that  he  thus  makes  it  the  means  of  advancing  them 
to  a  higher  knowledge  of  his  perfections,  and  bind- 
ing thrm  in  a  more  indissoluble  allegiance  to  his 

throne. 

And  this  indicates  again  that  it  is  to  have  a  great- 
a  far  beyond  what  those  who  hold  thai  the  pre* 
is  the  last  dispensation  imagine.    The  salvation  of  but 
a  mere  fraction  of  the  human  family  ;  the  interception 

of  the  work  after  the  lapse  of  a  few  centuries  more, 
ami  an  administration  like  the  present  under  which 
hut  here  and  there  one  i>  redeemed,  would  seem  dis- 
proportioned  to  the  attitude  in  which  it  is  placed  to 
the  whole  body  of  God's  m  >ral  creatures;  and  to  the 
personal  interest  which  all  the  obedient  subjects  of 
his  empire  are  made  to  feel  in  it.  It  is  only  such  a  re- 
demption as  he  has  foreshown  in  his  word  :  a  redemp- 
tion of  all  nations  and  all  individuals  through  an  end- 
less  round  <>f  ages  and  generations,  that  is  in  harmony 
with  the  place  it  occupies  in  God'<  government  over 
the  universe, and  that  is  commensurate  with  the  office 
it  is  to  till  in  manifesting  his  -dory,  and  promoting 
the  intelligence,  the  piety,  and  the  happiness  of  his 
kingdom. 

And  finally,  what  8  >ne  of  holy  and  blissful 

ministries  of  the  higher  ranks  of  intelligences  to  those 
of  inferior  orders,  thi  feature  of  Christ's  work 

unfolds!     Angels  are  so  formed  that  they  can  descend 


128  KTS  OF  ALL  WORLDS 

.  their  1  in  a 

knowled  I  redemption  by  a  di 

■ii  of  the  condition  and  conduct  of  tfa 
are  under  tl 

which  t! 
an  .    and    the 

and  l  Liss.     Bui  in  the  \  {  pire 

• 
like  ours,  confine  them  to  their  <>\\  i 
must  tl.'  obtain  their  kn  I 

work  directly  from  him,  or  through  other  beings. — 
Be  probably  reveals  himaelf  in  person  to  all  his  holy 

them  directly  to  bah 
and  i  their  allegiance  to  him.  full 

knowledge  of  his  work  .mni- 

!  by  fellow  creatures  who  pain  an  acquaint 
with  the  fail  and  ption  of  our 

them  to  i 

other   pi  i  ■.■minimi 

■  the  beij 
they   are   sent.      And   what   I 

requi  >rm  thai  work  to  all  the  worlds  inha- 

bited by  intelligences  through  t:  ircuil  of  his 

empire  !    That  high  held  by  the 

their  numbers  are  equal  to  the  i 
with  the  universe,  which  they  are  called  to  GIL    T 
1  in  a  circle  round  the  throne  at 

v.  1 1.  amounted,  the  1 
of  tl.  .  indicai 

thou  ''  million  . 


ACQUAINTED  WITH  OHBIST's  WORK.  L29 

fives  of  the  immeasurably  more  numerous  hostt 
the  orders,  to  which  they  belonged  ;  though  perhaps 
of  those  only  whose  Bphere  lies  within  our  nebula  of 
worlds.  How  infinite  the  armies  then  thai  occupy 
the  orbs  allotted  to  their  order  through  the  boundless 
circuit  of  peopled  Bpace  !  Who  can  deem  it  improba- 
ble that  the  holy  dead  may  also  after  the  resurrection, 
be  assigned  a  share  in  this  august  and  blissful  oi: 
and  may  make  known  by  their  own  voice  to  the  inha- 
bitants of  myriads  and  millions  of  worlds,  the  won- 
drous manner  in  which  Christ  raised  them  from  the 
thrall  and  curse  oi"  Bin,  and  show  the  grandeur  of  bis 

love  to  them  in  the  splendors  in  which  t  heir  out  ward 

nature  La  invested  and  the  dignity  of  the  stations  in 
his  kingdom  which  they  fill! 


6* 


('  II  A  PT  E  II    XII. 

n  in"  in:.\  r  the  th; 

Thi  predictions  of  the  old  Testament  respecting 
Christ's  Bway,  m  i  rally  exhibit  him  ss  a  K 

who  is  to  >it  on  the  throne  of  David,  and  n 
the  house  of  Israel.    Such  is  the  promise  to  David,  '2 
Samuel  vii.  16.    Such  ie  the  prophecy  ol  [saiahi 
7  :  ••  ['■  r  unto  us  a  child  is  born  :  unto  »n  is 

q  :  and  the  government  Bhall  be  upon  his  shoul- 
der: and  bis  name  Bhall  be  called  Wonderful,  Conn- 
sellor, The  Mighty  God, The  Everlasting  r  •'    r,The 
Prince  of  Peace.    And  of  the  increase  of  his  govern- 
ment and  peace  there  Bhall  be  ne  end  npon  the  thi 
of  David,  and  upon  bis  kingdom,  to  order  i 
establish  it  with  judgment  and  with  justi 
henceforth,  even  for  ei  er.    The  seal  of  Jehovah  shall 
perform  this."    Such  is  the  prophecy  of  Jeremiah 
xwiii.  1 1   L6t  and  of  Micah  v.  2 ;  and  such al 
annunciation  to  M  ry,  Luke  L  80-33:  "Behold  thou 
Bhall  i  e  and  bring  forth  a  Bon,  and  Bhalt  call  his 

nam*  And  he  Bhall  at,  and  Bhall  be 

called  the  Bon  of  the  Highest  :  And  the  Lord  Q    1 


IS  NOT  THE  THBONB  OP  DAVID.  L31 

shall  give  unto  him  the  throne  of  hie  father  David  ; 
A  ix  1  he  shall  reign  over  the  house  of  Jacob  for  ever  ; 
and  of  his  kingdom  there  shall  be  do  end."  It  was 
accordingly,  at  first,  the  expectation  of  Christ's  disci- 
ples that  he  would  at  onco  institute  his  kingdom  in 
Jndea,  release  the  Israelites  from  the  power  of  their 
enemies,  and  bring  the  nations  into  subservience  to 
his  sceptre.  In  his  lasi  interview  with  them,  as  ho 
was  about  to  ascend  to  heaven,  they  asked  him, 
"Lord,  wilt  thou  at  this  time  restore  again  the  king- 
dom to  Israel?"  As  then  he  immediately  ascended 
to  heaven,  and  entered  on  a  reign  over  the  universe, 
and  instead  of  delivering  the  Israelites  from  the  hands 
of  the  Gentiles,  left  them  to  be  conquered  afresh, 
driven  into  exile,  and  held  in  vassalage  through  a  long 
tract  of  ages  ;  it  is  inferred  by  many  that  these  pre- 
dictions of  his  reign  on  the  throne  of  David  and  over 
the  kingdom  of  Israel,  are  not  literal  predictions,  but 
are  mere  representatives  of  the  reign  on  the  throne 
of  heaven  he  is  now  exercising.  The  fact,  accord- 
ingly, that  those  prophecies  have  had  no  literal  fulfil- 
ment is  regarded  as  a  decisive  proof  that  they  are 
Dover  to  have  such  an  accomplishment;  and  indeed 
his  reign  on  the  throne  of  heaven  is  alleged  as  directly 
demonstrating  that  he  is  never  to  be  enthroned  on 
the  earth,  and  that  the  belief  held  by  Millenarians 
that  he  IS  yet  to  reign  here,  is  mistaken.  It  is  main- 
tained, even  that  if  the  literal  sense  of  those  prophe- 
cies were  their  true  and  only  sense,  their  non-fulfil- 
ment for  sueh  a  series  of  ages  would  prove  that  they 


<      ristt- 

anil 

Ti.  in  the  i 

I  hat  to  maintain  thai    the    thrOU6   of  heftl 

oa  which  Christ  now 

thai  the  predictions,  that 
I    \  id  and  over  the 
loin  of  1  i  i'uliiln. 

reby  put  ao  instrument 
Into  the  hand  of  the  Bceptio  by  which  he  ran.  in  hit 
own   conviction,  overturn   the  whole   strut 

Chi' 

mplishmenl  of  those  propheciefl  is  impossible, 
on  tl  iption  thai  i  illy  to  r< 

on  the  throne  and  over  the  kingdom  of  I) 
would  of  1  with  David,  in 

his  pergonal  condition  and  the  - 
which  ifl  witli  his  deity. 

Both  of  these  imprt  r,  arc  wholly  un- 

anthorized  and  mistaken.    That  Christ 

enthroned   himself  OD  Mount  Zi.-n.  and   : 

|  roof  that  he  cannot 

will  not  at  a  future  period  ;  any  more  than  the 

that  he  has  not  yet  redeemed  Is 

of  their  and    recalled  them  to  their  am 

lish  them  in  their  Own  land;  or  than 

I  all  the  nations  of  the  I 
a  proof  that  he  ; 

delaj  urn  and  assume  I  tre  of  the  world, 


IS  NOT  Till:  THSON1  OF  DAVID.  133 

is  no  more  irreconcilable  with  his  promisee  and  pre- 
dictions, and  do  more  against  the  expectations  the 
church  has  very  generally  entertained,  than  hie  long 
delay  is  to  come  and  overthrow  the  apostate  pevi 

that  are  making  Avar  on  his  saints.  Bpread  the  liglrl 
of  the  gospel  thronghonl  the  earth,  and  bring  all  na- 
tions to  accept  his  salvation.  Nor  does  it  any  more 
follow  that,  if  he  reigns  on  the  throne  of  David,  lie 
must  be  "  a  king  on  the  earthly  model  of  David,"  and 
u  possess  the  outward  forms  and  trappings  of  Jewish 
royalty."  than  it  follows  that  ho  mnst  be  a  mortal  like. 
David,  sustain  precisely  the  relations  he  did,  and 
reign  over  exactly  such  subjects.  Solomon's  mode 
of  reigning  differed  greatly  from  that  of  David.  He 
erected  a  new  and  far  more  gorgeous  throne;  he  set 
it  in  a  new  palaco  ;  he  was  surrounded  by  a  different 
train  of  attendants;  his  whole  administration  of  the 
kingdom  varied  greatly  from  that  of  his  father  ;  but 
that  did  not  prove  that  he  did  not  inherit  his  father's 
throne  and  kingdom.  He  reigned  on  his  father's 
throne,  because  he  succeeded  to  his  empire  and  his 
authority.  And  so  Christ  will  reign  on  the  throne 
of  his  father  David,  and  over  the  house  of  ,Iae<»l>  when 
he  reigns  in  person  on  Mount  Zion  as  the  special  king 
of  that   i  1  and  redeemed  people  ;  though  he 

reigns  in  glory  as  God-man,  and  over  all  other  na- 
tions and  all  other  worlds.  We  might,  moreover, 
confute,  by  a  variety  of  considerations,  the  the- 
ory that  the  throne  which  is  denominated  David's 
is  the   throne   of    heaven   on  which  Christ  is  now 


.  1 1  rid' 
which  : 

syllable  i  the 

i  that  those  kingdom 
>ntradi<  I 

of  h<  t  the  thron< 

of  worl  |  •  hii  empi    .     N 

r  than  t<>  iin  I>a\  id  no  ; 

on  the  throi  owned  it  and  the 

infinite  I  intelligence*  tin  in  homag 

Jehovah  wh  i  it,  than  Saul  i  them, 

reroboam,  AJbab,  < >r  any  other  prince  of  IsraeL — 
Thirdly :  That  there  ii  no  figon 
by  which  the  predictions  that  Chriai  should 
throne  oi    D  n  id  and  r  r  the  fa 

should  ] 
heaven  and    n'  rids  and  ci 

two  are  wholly  distinct,  and  wholly  nnlike. — 

righl  to  the  throne  of  the  univ.  .  the 

a  of  his  reigning  on  it  in  his  complex  nal 

their  gronnd   exclusively  in   his  <K-i: 

only  righl  to  a  throne  which  is  transmitted  to  him 

from  David,  is  s  righl  to  the  throne  i  I    Israel;  • 

throne  over  that  people  in  the  natural  li:    .      V     ;rth- 

thal  these  prop] 
1   is  wholly  mistaken*     They  have 
mbolixation.    Tl 

interpreted  by 
ordinary  lawi  To  treat  them  as  Bymboli- 


IB  N.'i    i.li:  IHEONE  OP  DAVID.  L85 

cal,  is  to  involve  them  in  inextricable  contradiction 
and  absurdity,  and  make  it  impossible  to  assign  them 
a  credible  meaning.  For  it"  David's  throne  and  king- 
dom are  mere  symbols  of  a  throne  and  kingdom  thai 
differ  wholly  from  themselves,  then  David  himself 
mnsl  also  be  a  mere  symbol  of  some  other  personage 
than  himself,  and  the  house  of  .hic.il>  nasi  1"-  a  sym- 
bol of  some  other  people  than  the  descendants  of 

b.  AVh<>.  then,  is  it  that  David  represents? — 
No  one,  we  presume,  would  quite  feel  justified  in  an- 
swering—  It  \v;is  God  the  Father  :  yet  it  was  lie  who 

•  Christ  the  throne  of  the  universe.  Eph.  i.  19- 
23;  Phil.  ii.  «>-  11  :  Col.  i.  15-20.  And  whom  d 
the  house  of  Jacob  symbolize?  Would  anyone  deem 
it  safe  to  answer — They  are  the  holy  inhabitants  of  the 
countless  worlds  wheeling  in  the  realms  of  space 
over  which  Christ  reigns  ?  Beside  the  revolting 
solecism  of  such  a  construction,  it  would  be  to  con- 
tradict the  interpretation  that  is  placed  on  the  house  of 
Jacob,  as  a  symbol  of  the  Christian  church.  It  is  to 
confound  and  desecrate  these  prophecies  to  make 
David,  a  guilty  creature,  the  symbol  of  the  Mosl 
High,  and  the  revolting,  idolatrous,  and  debased  Is- 
raelites the  symbol  of  the  spotless  hosts  of  the  hea- 
venly w.-rlds. 

But  it  is  not  necessary  to  enter  into  these  proofs 
that  the  throne  of  David  is  not  the  throne  of  heaven, 
nor  the  representative  of  it:  nor  the  kingdom  of 
Israel,  the  universe  of  creatures,  or  the  symbol  of  it, 
over  which  Christ  now  reigns.     The  question  is  set- 


kind 

Ited 

to  the  tliroE 

■ 
tering,     Thi 

;it   chin 

•  the  M    is'iah  i\ 
aid  be  i  nt i 
:  that  he  should  redeem  them  from  their 

ihonld  recall  them  fi 
.  and  re-establisl  in  their  own  lai 

r  them  u  .  that 

all  oationj  slum;  that 

inue  without  end.    1 
the  redempti  louM  be  aocomplisl 

that  immediate!;. 

rising  from  the  dead.  I.  1   t->  the 

ffaroi  a,  and  reign  then.-  through  a 

tract  make  himself  known  in 

nature  and  office  I       B     I  .11   the   i 

rank-  1  ID  the  U!ii\ 

their  homage,  and  unfold  t<>  them  his  work 

in  the  salvation  of  men — while,  in  the  n.  .  the 

i  continue  the  a 
•   his  professed  : 
-.  much  u  I  been  through  all  preceding 

Led    in    the   divi:  ;.   till 

I 

The  i  I 


I-  not  IHE  THHDNB  OF  DAVID.  137 

of  David  and  the  kingdom  of  [srael,  cannot  h  n 
a  promise  of  the  throne  an<l  kingdom  of  the  oniv<  i 

inasmuch  as  it'  it  were,  it  would  have  been  a  re\ 
tion  that  he  was  to  ascend  to  the  throne  of  heaven, 
and  reign  over  the  universe  of  worlds  and  creatures. 
Bat  do  Buch  revelation  having  been  made,  thfi  can- 
not have  been  a  promise  t h  *t  he  should  reign  on  that 
heavenly  throne,  and  over  those  worlds  and  creatures. 
That  no  revelation  was  made  in  the  Old  Testament, 
of  the  union  of  all  worlds  in  one  empire  under  Christ, 
is  expressly  affirmed  by  Paul,  Ephesians  i.  8-10. 
••  lie  has  abounded  toward  us  in  all  wisdom  and  pru- 
dence, having  made  known  unto  as  the  mystery  of  his 
will,  according  to  his  good  pleasure,  which  he  pur- 
posed in  himself,  in  the  economy  (thai  is,  the  peculiar 
administration)  of  the  fulness  of  the  times,  to  bring  to- 
gether again  in  one  (or  reunite  in  one)  the  all  in 
Christ — those  in  the  heavens  and  those  upon  the 
earth."  The  all,  u  those  in  the  heavens  and  those  on 
the  earth."  are  all  intelligent  beings  of  those  division- 
of  the  universe  ;  as  is  seen  from  their  being  distin- 
guished from  the  earth,  the  physical  globe,  and  the 
heavens,  the  1  orbs  in  which  they  dwell  ;  and 

from  VS.  20,  21,  in  which  those  in  the  heavenly  worlds 
are  defined  as  principalities  and  powers,  and  mig 
and  dominions,  and  every  name  that  is  named,  both 
in  this  age  and  that  which  is  to  come  ;  from  Phil.  ii. 
6-11,  where  they  are  exhibited  as  beings  that  have 
knees  that  can  bow,  and  i  that  can  confess  that 

Jesus  Christ  is  Lord,  to  the  glory  of  God  the  Father  ; 


L88  in  m:.\\ 

and  :  tlier  ii. 

in  Ohri  •  >pulationsof  all  w.ullv  these  infi 

hosts  "t"  intelligences  thai  till  t!  ireie  of 

throughout  the  i  to  unite  them  in 

one  empire  nnder  him,  the  incarni  rd,  th«ir 

ttor,  upholder,  and  ruler,  and  ou  I   Eli  - 

[tie to  bring  them  into  a  direct  relationship 
and  subordination  t<>  him  man.  in  which  on 

one  hand  he,  in  his  two-fold  nature,  ii  I 
them  in  the  rights,  authority,  and  glory  •     J 
and  ou  the  other,  they  are  to  n 
and  glorify  him  as  Jehovah  the  Word,  in  union  with 
man,  and  form  in  thai  willing  and  joyous  subordina- 
tion, and  that  loving,  adoring,  and  confiding  horn 

and   obedience,  through   all  their  ranks  and  in;  1 

one  iini'  mtaneous,  and  perfect  kingdom.     Jt 

lingly,  in  Col.  i.  19,  20,  called  a  reconciliation 
of  all  things  in  the  l;  nd  nn  the  earth  unto  the 

Pather  through  Christ— that  is,  a  being  brought  t.»;i 
filial,  joyous  submission  to  God  in  Christ,  acqui 
in  his  ru]  htt'iil  and  befitting  in  it-  relatioi 

them,  and  as  holy,  gracious,  and  .wise  in  its  relatioi 
mankind,  and  glorification  <»('  the  Pather  for  it 

1    the    Pather  that   in  him  all  l'i.  mid 

dwell  :   and  that  through  him  all  should  1  iled 

unto  himself,  whether  those  in  the  earth  M   in 

:"  that  i<.  brought  i  ignition  and 

acknowledgment  of  him  \.di  incarnafc 

acqui  in  his  sway,  an  adoring  approbatioi 

work  in  the  salvation  of  men,  and  a  grateful  I 


DB  -\<>T  THE  THBONE  OP  DAVID.  L89 

«■!'  tin*  Father  for  it,  and  for  his  headship  over 
them.  And  the  purpose  of  God  thus  to  exalt  him  to 
tin-  throne  of  the  heavens,  and  bring  all  ranks  of  holy 
creatures  into  an  intimate  relation  to  him,  and  sub- 
mission to  his  sceptre,  was  a  mystery,  the  apostle  de- 
clares, wholly  unknown  to  man  until  revealed  to  him 
and  others  after  their  appointment  to  the  ap  os  tie  ship. 
It  was  a  part  of  "the  mystery  of  his  iriH.  according  to 
the  good  pleasure  which  he  had  purposed  in  himself, 
in  the  economy  of  the  fulness  of  the  times,  to  gather  to- 
gether in  one  ail  in  Christ,  both  those  thai  arc  in  the 

heavens   and   those    that   are   on    the   earth  f   that  is. 

that  purpose  was  undisclosed  to  men  ;  it  remained  a 
Becrei  in  the  divine  counsels, until  it  was  revealed  to 

the  apostles.  lie  accordingly  refers  to  it,  chap.  iii. 
1-11,  as  it  contemplates  the  reconciliation  of  the  Gen- 
tile as  well  as  Israelitish  inhabitants  of  this  world, 
and  represents  it  as  not  having  been  made  known 
unto  the  sons  of  men,  but  kept  hidden  in  God.  "For 
this  cause  I.  Paul,  the  prisoner  of  Jesus  Christ  for 
you  Gentiles,  since  ye  have  heard  of  the  dispensation 
(or  economy)  of  the  grace  of  God  which  is  given  unto 
me  toyou-ward,how  that  by  revelation  he  made  known 
unto  me  the  mystery  (the  purpose  before  undisclosed  >, 
as  I  have  just  written  in  brief  (chap.  i.  I),  10),  by 
which  when  ye  read,  ye  may  apprehend  my  under- 
standing of  the  mystery  of  Christ,  which  in  other  gen- 
erations was  not  made  known  to  the  sons  of  me; 
it  is  now  revealed  to  his  holy  apostles  and  prophets 
by  the  Spirit,  that  the  Gentiles  are  to  be  fellow-heirs 


1  1«>  in  hi:a\ 

ami  : 

in  OhriaJ  through  the  gospel,  of  which  I  am  m 

a  mil 

\\ bich  i~  to  tin-  inworking  of 

hii  power— -to  dm  the  h 

1 1 

trchable  I  ad  to  m 

known  to  all  what  thi  f  a<lmin- 

of  the  n  '  be  ondi 

which  was  bidden  from  I 
all  things,  tint  now  might  le  known  to  the  prin- 

Lities  and  tl  in  the  heavenlj 

through  the  church,  the  manifold  wisdom  of  I 
cording  to  the  purpose  of  ti.  irhich  he 

in  Christ  Jesus  our  Lord."  ry — the 

purp  I         before  ondi  le  as 

that  of  which  he  chap.  i. 

as  a  purpose  to  bring  t"  all  w< 

— those  of  the  I 

of  the  earth  on  the  other — into  one  loving,  obedient, 
empire  under  Christ.     Be  ti 

templated  it  chiefly  in  re  I 

tation  over  the  inhabitants  of  ti 
all  principality,  and  power,  ami  might, and  dominion, 
and  every  name  that  is  named  in  this  age,  and  that 
which  is  to  come  :  h  -  it    in   its 

(habitants  of  the  earth,  Ibits 

-  a  purpose  that  all  i       I       tile  nations  shall 
fellow-heirs  with  the  Israelites,  of  tb 
fellow-partakers  of  the  promise  of  th<  ;  oamely, 


Ifl  not  THE  THBOHE  OF  DAVID.  1  1 1 

a  promise  of  a  perfect  redemption  from  the  dominion 
and  cnrse  of  Bin  :  bo  thai  this  world  la  in  the  fulness  of 
the  times  to  be  wholly  reconciled  to  (in, Land  brought 
into  a  lull  and  blissful  harmony  with  the  other  worlds 
in  their  subjection  to  Christ.  And  this  purpose,  he 
declares,  "  in  other  generations  was  not  made  known 
unto  the  Bona  of*  men,  as  it  is  now  revealed  onto  his 
holy  apostles  and  prophets;"  "bul  from  the  begin- 
ning i^'  tin'  world  had  been  hid  in  God."  To  the 
Golossians,  also,  he  represents  it  aa  "the  mystery 
which  had  been  hid  from  thi  id  from  the  gen- 

erations, but  now  is  manifest  to  his  saints,  to  whom 
God  willed  to  make  known  what  is  the  richea  of  the 
-l,.ry  oi'  this  mystery,  in  respect  to  the  Gentiles, 
which  ia  Christ  in  yon  the  hope  of  glory,"  chap.  i.  26, 
27.     Th<  ich,  in  the  clearest  man- 

ner, that  the  great  purpose  of  the  exaltation  of  Cnrist 
to  the  throne  of  the  universe,  the  submission  to  him 
of  all  the  hosts  inhabiting  the  heavenly  orbs,  and  the 
reconciliation  of  this  world  to  him  by  a  full  and  final 
restoration  of  all  the  Gentile  nation-,  aa  well  as  the 
Israelites,  to  holiness,  so  that  the  whole  shall  form 
one  peaceful,  loving,  and  blissful  empire  was  not 
made  known  to  the  ages  and  tin-  generations  that 
preceded  Christ's  incarnation,  hut  was  first  revealed 
to  the  apostles  and  prophets  at  the  promulgation  of 
the  gospel. 

And  this  is  repeated  and  confirmed  in  other  pa- 
ges.   Thus  Paul,  Rom.  xvi.  25,   .  mta  this 
mystery  as  having  been  kept  silent  through  all  pre- 


1  1-J 

cedii  tion,  made  mani- 

while  also  it  was  made  known  through  the 
pin-tic  writings  by  tin-  command  of  God,  in 
an  obedient  faith  among  all         I      idles, 
him  who  ii  able  to  establish  yon  according  to  my 
Lr<>-|M'l  and  the  preachii  •'  I  conform- 

ably to  the  revelation  of  the  i  lent, 

•  ternity,  1  >ut  now  made  manii 

and  through  the  prophetic  writu  rding  to  the 

command  of  the  eternal  God,  made  known  among  all 

the  nations,  in  order  to  an  obediena  th;w  that 

believing  obedience.     It  is  thus  declared  to  I 

tilent  from  eternity,  bnl  now  to  be  mani- 
I  by  revelation  :   while  at  th< 
writings  of  the  prophets  of  th< 
osed  in  commnnicating  it  to  all  nations,  in  ord<  r  t<» 
:  them  believingly  and  obediently  to  n 

:t  that  time  first  made  known  by 
lation,  it  had  not   1 
ancient  prophets.     Their  writing  a 

having  wn  it.  bnt  Bimpl; 

showing  other  el  of  the  e 

mption  that  ted  with  and  confirm  it  ; 

Bnch  as  the  deity  of  the  M  ,  Isaiah  ix.  6,  7 ;  his 

:'.  [saiah  liii.  ::  10 ;  his  resurrection,  Psalm  xvi. 
9  11 :  tli.-  full  redemption  at  length  i  :    [a 

ih  over  thai 

ii  ii. 
ticipation  of  Gent 

"l*  his  reign,  [saiah  Ixvi.  19  23:  Z  .  1.'.. 


is  \DT  Till:  THRONE  OP  DAVID.  1  l:j 

17  :  their  BubjectioD  to  his  sceptre,  Zech«*xiv.  9 ;  and 
the  creation  of  Dew  heavens  and  a  new  earth,  Na. 
Ixv.  17-25,  These  and  other  great  truths  respecting 
Ohrisl  and  his  reign  on  earth  were  made  known  to 
the  ancient  church,  and  they  were  adapted  to  concili- 
ate the  faith  of  those  to  whom  the  gospel  was  pro- 
claimed, in  those  purposes  of  God  respecting  the  ex- 
altation of  Christ  to  the  throne  of  heaven,  and  the 
ultimate  full  redemption  of  the  Gentile  nation- 
well  as  the  Israelites,  which  had  before  been  con 
ed  from  the  Bons  of  men. 

This  is  confirmed  by  the  fact,  thai  there  is  no  reve- 
lation in  the  Old  Testament  prophecies  that  Christ 
was  to  be  invested  with  authority  over  the  inhabi- 
tants of  the  heavenly  realms.  It  is.  indeed,  dearly 
signified  in  Psalm  ex.  1,  that  he  would  be  exalted  to 
the  right  hand  of  the  Father:  "  The  Lord  said  unto 
my  Lord,  Sit  thou  at  my  right  hand,  until  I  make 
thine  enemies  thy  footstool."  But  there  is  here  no 
intimation  that  in  that  exaltation  he  was  to  be  invest- 
ed with  the  sceptre  of  the  universe,  and  reign  over 
all  the  hosts  of  the  heavenly  worlds,  as  well  as  over 
the  inhabitants  of  the  earth.  Instead,  he  is  contem- 
plated >itnj)ly  as  the  king  of  this  world  j  and  this 
world  is  exhibited  as  1  mflicts  with 

and  conquest  of  his  enemies.      "The  Lord  shall  send 
the  rod  of  thy  strength  out  of  Zion  :   rule  thou  in  the 
midst  of  thine  enemies.     The  Lord  at  thy  right  fa 
shall  strike  through  kings  in  the  day  of  his  wrath: 
he  shall  judge  among  the  heathen  ;  he  shall  fill  pi        - 


Ill 

with  the  dead  b  dl  iround  tl. 

many  count]  1 

blj  that  arc  tO  I  6    ID  hil  i" 1 1 1 . 

Jn  Psalm  ih  •  8,  all  l 

-!  this  ii 
the  >'•'■!■•  "  Thine 

e  sharp  in  the  bearl  of  the  king 
the  people  foil  under  thee.    Thy  thron<  ,0  I 
for  ever  and  tre  of  thy 

righl  bc(  ptre.    Thou  bveei  righteon 
wickedness;  therefore  0  God  has  thy  G 
thee  with  the  oil  of  gladness  above  thy  companions." 
J'    lm  lxxii..  also,  which  celebrates  his  reign,  exhib- 
its the  earth  •     "  He  shall  jn 
pie  in   righteoosness  and  thy  poor  with  judgment 

mountains  shall  bring  forth 
and  the  hill-  bteousness.     He  shall  judge  the 

poor  of  ih«'  peoj  •  :'  the 

ly,and  shall  break  in  pie< 
shall  fear  thee  as  Long  as  lure, 

throughout  all  generations.     II*'  shall  have  dominion 
also  from  sea  to  Bea,and  from  the  river  n 
of  the  earth:  all  kings  shall  fall  down  before  him;  all 
nations  shall  serve  him."    And  all  ground  for 
supposition   from   tl  thai   though  his 

.,  is  to  be  over  the  earth,  he  is  to  be  enthrt 

in  heaven,  while  moved  by  th< 

nouncement  by  Christ,  that  in  coming  in  the  clouds 

of  heaven  to  judge  and  reign  over  men,  he  is  * 

jht  hand  of  power.    ••  And  the  : 


l>  HOT  TIIH  THBONE  OF  DAVID.  1  lo 

priest  sai.l  unto  him,  1  adjure  thee  by  the  Living  I 
that  thou  till  us  whether  thou  be  the  Christ,  the  Son 

o['  God.     Je8Ufl   saith  unto  him.  Thou  basl  said  :   hut 

I  say  unto  you  ;  hereafter  ye  shall  see  the  Sou  of  man 
ad  at  the  right  hand  of  power,  and  eoming  in  the 
clondfl  of  heaven/'  Matt.  xxvi.  63,  6  I.  And  it  is  fore- 
shown. Ke  v.  xxi.  22, 23,  xxii.  1, 3,  that  the  Father  La  to 
be  present  in  the  new  Jerusalem,  the  symbol  of  the  ris- 
en saints,  on  its  descent  to  earth.  "And  I  saw  no  tem- 
ple therein,  for  the  L  >rd  God  Almighty  and  the  Lamb 
ihe  temple  pf  it.  And  the  city  had  no  need  of 
the  sun,  neither  of  the  moon  to  shine  in  it,  for  the 
glory  of  God  did  lighten  it,  and  the  Lamb  is  the  light 
thereof.'7  »w  And  the  throne  of  God  and  of  the  Lamb 
shall  be  in  it  ;  and  his  servants  shall  serve  him."  Afl 
then  the  throne  of  the  Father  is  to  be  among  the 
glorified  saints  on  earth  as  well  as  the.  throne  of 
Christ,  daring  that  part  of  his  reign  represented  by 
the  thousand  years,  which  is  to  precede  the  final  put- 
ting  of  all  his  enemies  under  his  feet,  those  passages, 
in  exhibiting  him  as  God,  and  as  Beated  at  the  right 
hand  of  Jehovah,  during  that  period,  do  not  imply 
that-  the  throne  on  which  lie  is  then  to  reign  is,  like 
that  on  which  he  is  now  to  be  in  heaven,  and 

not  on  the  earth:  and  the  revelation  accordingly, 
that  he  \  I  at   the  right    hand  of  Jeho- 

vah, was  not  a  revelation  that  he  was  to  be  exalted 
to  the  throne  of  the  universe,  and  invested  with  au- 
thority over  all  orders  of  intellig*  nt  beings. 

That  no  such  revelation  W8i    made  to  the  aneient 
7 


1 16  Christ's  throne  in  iikw 

church,  is  indi<    I  d  which 

.  died  .i!  I 

that  he  would  immediately  enter  on  his  rei 
the  bona         l    aeL    Ti.  1  him  but  a  few  dso- 

menl  aded  to  heai  •        L  >rd,  wilt  I 

at  this  time 

showing  that   tl  irded  tl  :.t   pro] 

as  foreshowing  the  the  kingdom  to 

that  people;  and  that  they  knew  not  hut  he  would 
immediately  declare  himself  their  kit  i 
hi-  reign  over  them  on  mount  Zion. 

This  i-  confirmed,  moreover,  by  tin-  fart,  thai  it 

wholly  unknown  t<»  the  ancient  church  that  the  Israel- 

continue  in  blin  '1  onbeli 

period  after  Christ  came,  during  which  the) 

t«»  he  conquered  by  the  Gentiles,  ami  driven 

into  exile;  their  city  destroyed,  and  their  worship 

abolished.     Paul  Bays,  "1  would  not,  bn  that 

should  be  ignorant  «'t*  tl, '-  •  should 

be  wise  in  your  own  conceits,)  that  blindness  in  part 

ippened  to  Israel,  until  the  fain 
tiles  1m-  come  in  :  ami  s.>  all  [srael  >  1 1 ; 1 1 1  1'--  saved  : 
it  is  written.    Then  shall  come  out  of  Zion  the  De- 
liverer :  and  shall  turn  away  Bngodlinesfl  froi    •' 

this  i-  niv  covenant  unto  them,  when  I  shall  take 
away  their  Bins."  Ami  he  represents  this  pari  ol 
divine  purpo  depth  which  no  one  had  known 

mid  have  -  arch<  <1  out.    "  I'  r  I  k>d  hath  conclud- 
ed thriu  all— Israelis  in  unbelief, 
ho  might   have  mere}   on  all.     <>  the  depth  «•; 


is  Not  THE  THRONE  OF  DAVID.  117 


riches  both  of  the  wisdom  and  the  knowledge  of  God  I 
How  unsearchable  are  his  judgments,  and  his  ways 
past  Ending  oul  !  For  who  hath  known  the  mind  of 
the  Lord?  Or  who  hath  been  his  counsellor?"  Rom. 
\i.  25,  26;  32  34.  This  is  called  a  mystery,  because 
it  had  not  been  revealed  by  the  ancieni  prophets  to 
the  Israelites.  A.s,  then,  no  revelation  had  been 
matlr  to  them  that  they  were  to  continue  in  blind- 

0686   and  alienation    for  a   Ion--   Beries   of  agefl   after 

Christ  came,  and  were  not  to  be  redeemed  till  his 
>nd  coming,  and  the  redemption  of  the  Gentiles, 
but  they  were  left  to  Buppose  that  lie  would  com- 
mence  his  reign  over  them  soon  after  his  birth  ;  no 
revelation  was  made  to  them  that  ere  he  began  his 
reign  over  them,  he  was  to  be  exalted  in  his  human 
nature  to  the  throne  of  heaven,  and  reign  through  a 
long  succession  of  ages  over  the  inhabitants  of  the 
heavenly  worlds. 

It  is  clear,  then,  from  these  various  considerations, 
that  no  revelation  was  made  in  the  ancient  Scriptures 
of  the  exaltation  of  Christ  to  the  throne  of  heaven, 
and  reign  over  the  universe  of  unfallen  creatures. — 
The  promise  and  prophecy  that  he  should  reign  on 
the  throne  of  David,  and  over  the  kingdom  of  Israel, 
therefore,  Were    not   a   revelation    that   he    should  be 

exalted  to  that  heavenly  throne,  and  reign  ovei  the 

Unfallen  worlds.  His  present  reign  in  heaven,  ac- 
cordingly, is  not  a  fulfilment  of  the  promise  that  he 
should  reign  on  the  throne  of  David  and  over  the 
kingdom  of  Israel.    Consequently  the  promise  to  him 


1  U  CHB 

of  Da\  id's  throne,  and  eu  r  his 

fulfilled 
in  heaven  and  over  other  worlds 
a  fiiliiln.  i-  to  be  fulfilled  by  bii  •dually 

coming  and  reigning  as  the  d 
his  throi 
ed  If 
The  fancy,  therefore,  maintained  bo  confidently  by 
•  .  thai  the  thn  i  Dai  id  is  a  bj  mbol  of  the 

throne  of  heaven,  and   i  od  the  kingdom  <»t* 

1  bj  mbolfl  of  the  inhabitai 

worlds,  and   that    C'hri-'  ktion    t<» 

he  aniv<  accomplishment 

prophecies  that  la-  .-hall  reign  on  David's 
and  over  his  kingdom,  i  side.     Jt  i-  not  only 

without  authority,  ami  against    the   I 
hut  it  is  proved  t<»  be  wholl)  1  in  » 

tion  of  the  truth,  by  the  fact  thus  expn 
clared  by  the  apostle,  that  no  revelat 

tncient  prophecies,  that  Christ  was  to  ascend  to 
the  throne  of  heaven,  and  exert  the  administration 
ling  there  over  the  populations  of  the 
stial  Bphei    s,    I  I  ihrisi  in 

vcn  is  thus  shown  to  he  •  tent  with  his 

future  reign,  according  to  the  predictions  of  the  pro- 
el  and  the  Gentile  nations  on  the 

earth  :   and  tin-    tact    that    those  pred 

bad  any  fulfillment, and  that  they  cannot  bai 

that  t!. 


is  \<>T  THE  THRONE  OP  DAVID.  1  !'.i 

to  have  their  accomplishment  in  a  Literal  personal 
reign  of  the  Redeemer  on  the  earth. 

We  commend  this  conclusion  to  the  consideration 
of  God's  people.  There  is  do  escape  from  it,  by  any 
artifices  of  philology  or  exploits  of  logic.  It  confronts 
those  who  would  spiritualize  the  prophecies  with  a 
direct  negative  from  the  greal  Revealer  himself  j  and 

shows  that  it  is  those  who  deny  that  Christ  IS  vet  to 

reign  in  person  on  the  earth — aot  those  who  main- 
tain that  lie  is — who  in  effect  impeach  the  truth  of 
the  prophecies  respecting  him,  and  till  the  quiver  of 
••  the  adversaries"  with  arrows  with  which  to  as<ail 
the  truth  of  Christianity. 


•Ill 


0  H  A  PT  E  B    XIII. 

Tin  .  I  OF  Tin:  BOMAM  I 

One  of  the  most  importanl  questions  in  regard  to 
the  i'ntmv  administration  Clod  u  r  our 

world,  respects  the  period  daring  which  tl 
of  human  generations  and  the  work  of  redemption 
arc  to  continue.     It'  the  race  is  within  a  few  centuries 
to  reach  its  term,  and  the  number  who  art 
completed,  then  the  work  of  redemption  is  i 
prised  within  limits  thai  seem  very  narrow, 
proportioned  to  the  greal  i  -  by  which  | 

oration  to  holiness  is  accomplish*   !.     1 1 '  1  b<  . 
mtinue  forever  to  perpetuate  themselves  in 
.  and  renovation  is  soon  r 
tended  to  all  that  come  into  existence,  and  couth 
through  eternal  years,  then  the  result  of  Christ's  b> 

ention  is  to  be  commensurate  with  the  divin< 
factions,  and  Buitable  to  the  wonderfulneas  of  th< 
diation  by  which  it  is  to  be  achil 

What  then  are  tin'  puxj  ( I 

perpetuation  of  our  race?     I-  this  world  to  continue 
their  abode,  and  are  they  to  multiply  in  an  • 


Tin:  PERPETUITY  OP  Tin:  iitmw  RACE.  LSI 

less  series  of  generations?    Or  are  they  Boon  t<»  reach 

their  destined  Dumber,  i  ime  into  lit-'',  be 

sferred  to  sum.'  other  scene  of  existence,  and  the 

earth,  having  filled  its  office  as  the  place  of  their 

birth  and  probation,  be  struck  back  into  the  nothing- 

from  which  it  was  called  ? 

The  latter  is  very  generally  supposed  to  be  the 

teaching  of  the  divine  word.    It  is  maintained  that 

the  end  of  the  millenial  age — which  it  is  held  is  to 

close  a  little  over  a  thousand  years  hence — Is  to  be 

the  end  of  the  world,  as  a  physical  existence  j  that 
whim  soon  after  that  period  closes,  the  last   fesum  e- 

tion  and  judgment  take  place,  the  sanctified  are  to 
be  removed  I  repared  for  them  in  some 

other  part  ^(  the  universe  :  the  wicked  consigned  to 
the  abyss  of  punishment ;  and  the  globe  itself  burned 
by  a  fire  that  is  either  to  annihilate  it,  or  dissolve  it 
into  its  elements,  and  disperse  them  through  the 
realms  i^i'  >pace. 

This  view,  however,  though  very  confidently  held 

and  taught,  is  not  the  doctrine  of  the  Scriptures. — 

There  is  no  intimation  in  them  that  the  earth  is  ever 

to  he  annihilated,  or  cease   to  he  the  birthplace  and 

home  of  human  beings.     Instead,  they  teach  that  it 

•  continue  for  ever,  and  that  mankind  are  for  ever 

icupy  it,  and  multiply  in  an  endless  succession  of 

:  and  that  it  is  to  be  the  scene  of  Christ's 

[•lasting  kingdom  and  reign.    These  great  futuri- 

not  simply  implied  or  hinted  in  the  word  of 

:    they  are   revealed    with    such    clearness,  fre- 


1 52 

quency,  and  amplitude,  and  the 

whol  :  the  di\  ' bem 

among  the  m  and  indubil  pur- 

I 
future  admit  world. 

Thus  it  wa  I  that 

neither  the  ground  il  animal  tril 

ever  again  to  be  Bmitten  with  a  i 
but  thai  -I  time 

liar\  U  continue.    M  At. ■!  I '  •    Lord  said  in  his 

.  I  will  nut  again  cum  ■  the  ground  any  i 
man's  sake  ;  neither  will  I  again  unite  any  m< 
thing  livi  [  ]    w  done.     Wliile  the  earth  re- 

maineth,  seed  time  and  harvest,  and  lummer  and  win- 

and  night,  shall  not  •  viii.  21, 

not  only  thai  th  ia 

ImaJ 

tril" 

but  t!.  I  i  -  i  •  inue  buI 

to  its  pr(  und 

un.  and    in   a   condition    to  and 

i'rui;  ted  for  tl  mankind 

in  their  natural  li  I  implies,  therefore,  that  i 

in  the  natural,  in  contradistinction  from  a 

to  inhabit  and  cultivate  the  earth  as  Long 
time  when  men,  w  I 

.rth,  plai 

:  and  hai  ben 

■  ber  the  ripened  crops  of  the  grains  ai 

they  have  s.iv.  n.    The  proi 


Til  i:  PERPETUITY  OF  THE  HUMAN  RACE.  L53 

Pore,  to  a  declaration  that  mankind  are  to  inhabil  and 
cultivate  the  earth  for  their  subsistence  as  !• 
tarns  on  its  axis  and  wheels  ronnd  the  sun  ;  and  thai 
it  is  to  continue  those  movements  and  pass  through  a 
succession  of  seasons  as  long  as  it  continues  to  exist. 

It  is  a  cleai-  prediction,  accordingly,  thai  mankind  arc 

to  continue  on  the  earth  and  subsist  on  its  annual 
crops  as  long  as  the  earth  itself  continues  in  exist- 
ence. 

How  long,  then,  is  the  earth   thus   to  exist?     And 

how  Ion--  an-  men  to  propagate  on  it  ?  The  answer 
given  by  the  Mosl  High  in  the  covenant  with  Noah 
is — tor  ever — through  endless  generations.  "And 
God  spake  unto  Noah,  and  to  his  Bons  with  him,  say- 
ing:  And  [,  behold,]  establish  my  covenant  with  you, 
and  with  your  seed  after  you,  and  with  every  living 
creature  that  is  with  you,  of  the  fowl,  of  the  cattle, 
and  of  every  beast  of  the  earth  with  you,  from  all  that 
go  out  of  the  ark,  to  every  beast  of  the  earth.  And 
1  will  establish  my  covenant  with  you,  neither  shall 
all  flesh  be  cut  off  any  more  by  the  waters  of  a  flood  ; 
neither  shall  there  any  more  be  a  flood  to  destroy  the 
earth.  And  God  said,  this  is  the  token  of  the  coven- 
ant which  1  make  between  me  and  you.  and  every 
livii  |  are  that  is  with  you,  for  tb"l2  trnilb  per- 

petual generations  (generations  of  eternity).    I  do 
my  bow  in  the  cloud,  and  it  shall  be  for  a  token 
of  b  covenant  between  me  and  the  earth.    And  it 
shall   conic  to  pass,  when   1   bring  a  cloud  over  the 

!i.  that  the  how  shall  be  Been  in  the  cloud  ;   and  1 
7* 


1111. 

will  remember  my  covenant,  which 
and  yon  and  everj  livii  ire  of  all  flesh;  and 

the  l "'.\  • :    11  be  in  the  cloud  ;  and  J  will  look  fepon 
1  may  rememb*  r  z:m?  r*~Z  ;''' 

nit  v     ill.  everlasting  covenant  between  God  and 

is  upon  the 
earth."  Gen,  ix.  6   L6. 

Ti  ml  thai  was  made  with  Noah  and  ei 

livii,  ire,  18  thus  I  to  be  ant 

tions  of  eternity . 

erations  of  men  and  every  1  i \  i i i ^r  creature,  thai  ai 
tinne  in  an  endless  succession*    It  is  eqnivi 
to  a  declaration,  therefore,  that  mankind  and  the  ani- 
mal trib<  •  •  continue  in  an  eternal  - 
erations.    The  covenant  also  between  ('■• 
living  creature  of  all  li  ailed  an 

oant  :  which, as  the  parties  with  whom  it  is  d 
must  continue  to  aul  - 

continuefl  and  Lb  verified, — is  equivalent  to  a 
tion  that  the  posterity  of  Noah  and  the  earth  it 
are  to  continue  for  ever  in  the  condil 

oant  contemplates;  and  therefore  that  the  I 
la  for  ever  to  appear  in  the  clouds  ;  thai  men  an 

to  continue  to  behold  it  ;  and  thence  that  1 

are   for  evi  r   I  I   Bubsist    here   in  the  natural  life. — in 

which,  and  in  which  alone,  that  pledge  would  be 
propriate  to  them.  See  also  Eccl.  i.  -1  ;  Ps.  ch 

Tl,  -  thus  plainly  teach  that  the  earth  is 

to  i  list   for  <  ver  and  under  its  present  great  1 
that  mankind  are  to  Inhabit  it  and  multiply  on  il 


Till-:  PERPETUITY  OF  THE  in  man  RACE.  L55 

an  endless  Beriee  i  f  generations  ;  and  that  they  are 
to  continue  through  all  their  endless  successions  to 

cultivate  and  8ubsis1  on  its  vegetable  crops  ;  and 
thence  are  to  continue  in  their  natural  corporeal  life. 
It  ie  qoI  to  be  supposed  thai  risen  and  glorified  human 
beings  will  need  the  pledge  01  the  rainbow  thai  they 
are  never  to  be  drowned  by  a  general  deluge  ;  it  is 
not  to  be  supposed  thai  they  will  cultivate  the  earth 
and  live  on  its  vegetable  productions.  It  is  to  men 
in  the  natural  life  that  these  promises  w\ 

That  the  expression,  generations  of  eternity,  de- 
notes generations  that  arc  to  continue  in  an  end 
Beriee,  is  clear  from  the  frequent  use  in  the  Scrip! 
of  the  continuous  generations  of  mankind  as  a  d 
sure  of  eternity.     Thus  in  the  expression,  [sa.  li.  8, 
M  My  righteousness  shall  be  to  eternity  and  my  salva- 
tion   unto   generation   and   generation" — ubl^b-    to 
eternity,  is  used  as  a  parallelism  with  "unto  genera- 
tion and  generation  ;"  and  the  declaration,  "My  sal- 
vation shall  be  unto  generation  and  generation,"  as- 
-   eternity  as  absolutely  as   the   expression, 
••  My  righteousness  shall  be  le  olam,  to  eternity,"  as- 
cribes eternity  to  that.    This  is  confirmed  moreover 
by  the  incom  of  a  different  construction  with 

the   divine   peri  It  is   as    contradictory  to 

'a  own  eternity  and  unchangeable  goodness,  wis- 
dom, and  purpose  :;y  the  eternity  of  hi-   Salva- 
tion, as  it  is  to  deny  the  eternity  of  his  righteousm 
The  ex]                         used  in  a  like  parallelism,  Dan. 
iv.  3,  34,  "■  11                      •  his  signs  !     And  how  mighty 


L56  hb  m  m  •-. 

are  tn   ia  an  ting 

doni,  and  his  dominion  onto  gen 
erati  "And  M 

md  honored  him  that  lii 
dominion  is  an  everlasting  dominion, and  bis  king 
is  in  •  ration  and  generation."    Ti  are 

made  indisputable  I 
the  first,  of  the  kingdom,  and  in  the  othi 
minion,  as  6Um  i  it  is 

the  dominion,  and  id  the  lasl  the  kingdom,  tli 
"  onto  generation  and  generation.'1    Th< 
••  onto  generation  an  .."  is  as 

roivalenl  to  eternity,  and  assum 

that  Qeratione  <»t'  niankii.  ; 

another  throughout  the  unending  futi 
In  Ps.  cxlv.  13,  eternities,  and  every  generation 
eration,  i 

dom  z"z'zmy  :z  ■  '     ''  eternil 
minion  in  ei  ion  and  generati  the 

dominion  corresponds  in  duration  with  the  kingdom, 
in  every  ■  eneration  ami  generation 
of  mankind  Is  Identical  with  it-  continual 
all  eternities.     '  <■   aeration  to  generation,91 

nana'  and  reign.    "Jehovah,  th]  la  z':'l':  ' 

:••  :  Jehovah,  thy  i  Is  nut  i  tion 

and   generation:"    Ps,  "Jehovah   shall 

reigi  nit3  ;  th;    I         I  I  . j  ition 

:"  Ps.  cxlvi.  1<».     Eere 
generation  is  exhibit 


THK  PBRPET1  liv  OP  THE  ill'M.w  BACB.  L5l 

nal  reign,  as  absolutely  as  eternity  is.  This  use  of 
the  expression  Is,  in  effect,  therefore,  as  absoluj 
declaration  thai  the  generations  of  mankind  an 
continue  to  Bucceed  each  other  for  ever,  as  a  direct 
affirmation  thai  they  are  to  continue  in  an  endless 
succession  would  have  been.  As  they  are  to  be  com- 
mensurate with  his  reign,  they  are  to  be  as  eternal  as 
his  reign  lb.  And,  finally,  they  are  used  by  Joel  iii. 
%jn.  as  equivalents  in  predicting  the  perpetuity  of 
Judah's  residence  in  their  national  land  :  "  Bu1  Judah 
shall  dwell  to  oZoffl,  eternity,  and  Jerusalem  to  gener- 
ation and  generation."  These  passages,  like  the 
pro]  K      h,  thus  explicitly  teach  that  the  gen- 

erations of  men.  are  to  continue  to  succeed  one 
another  for  ever,  and  are  to  be  a  measure  in  their 
perpetual  series  of  the  round  of  eternal  ages.  To 
maintain  that  this  is  not  their  meaning,  is  not  only  to 
contradict  the  plain  equivalence  of  the  endless  gen- 
erations of  mankind  to  eternity  in  theso  delineations 
of  the  Divine  kingdom  and  reign  ;  but  is  to  exhibit 
God  as  having  used  a  measure  of  the  continuance  of 
his  kingdom,  his  dominion,  his  name,  and  his  memory, 
that  is  wholly  incommensurate  with,  and  altogether 
misrepresents  them  :  which  were  inconsistent  with 
his  veracity  and  wisdom. 

This  use.  moreover,  of  the  ever  continuing  succes- 
sion of  human  generations,  as  a  measure  of  God's 
eternal  kingdom  and  reign,  was  not  far-fetched  or  in- 
appropriate to  the  Eebrews,  but  was  the  mosl  natu- 
ral, the  most  graphic,  and  the  most  impressive  that 


THE 

I  ;  from  the  fact,  thai 

-  in  which  il 

had  (   inaan  to  Abraham 

sr>siuu,  ; 1 1 1 « 1 

pledged,  in  I   Dumber  of  |  -  and  predic- 

tions, that  they  should  dwell  t1  :       joy  it  in 

their  H 

thus  the  assurance  by  the  ex]  tioo  and 

■  nant  of  God,  that  their  nation  it  | bere 

for  ever,  and  in  the  •  tampon 

tile  nations,  the  end  tionsofthe  race  are 

the  most  natural  and  the  i  aificanl  m< 

that  could  have  been  chosen  by  the  Most  Bigh,  t«>  in- 
dicate  t<>  them  the  perpetuity  of  his  dominion  and 
over  them. 
Thai  the  race  is  to  oontinui  spy  the  earth  in 

an  endless  su 

shown  and  assured  to  the  II         n  by  t li- 
Abraham  and  his  posterity  of  the  land  of  Canai 
a  posse88io]  ity,  and  the  promise  and  pn 

tion  that  hia  seed  should  inherit  and  enjoy  it  I 
This  gift  of  Canaan  to  Abraham  and  hi- 

lasting  inheritance,  and  pledge  that  his  ; 
Bhould  continue  in  an  ei 

enjoy  it.  entered  as  a  chief  element  into  the 
•  G  d  made  with  that  patriarch,  and  all 
subsequent  promises  to  the  Israelites  dowi 
time  of  their  dispersion  by  the  B  §,  and  has 

equally  prominent  place  in  the  predictions  of  their 

>n   and  lishment    in   that   la; 


:  PERPETUITY  OF  THE  HUMAN  I:  \  159 

chosen  people.    Thus,  his  language  to  A.bra1 
11  Lift  up  now  thine  eyes,  and  look  from  the  | 
where  thou  art,  northward,  and  southward,  and  i 
ward,  and   westward:    For  all   the   land   which    thou 

at,  to  thee  will  I  give  it,  and  to  thy  seed, addamt 
to  eternity.     And  1  will  make  thy  Beed  as  the  dust 

of  the  earth  :  BO  that  if  a  man  can  Dumber  the  dust 
of  tin'  earth,  then  shall  thy  seed  also  be  numbered." 
(Gen.  xiii.  14-16.)  The  duration  of  the  gift  is  thus 
explicitly  defined  as  eternity  ;  and  its  eternity  im- 
plies, therefore,  the  everlasting  existence  of  the  earth 
ami  of  Canaan,  and  the  endless  continuance  by  suc- 
generations  of  the  Eebrews.  And  the  pro- 
mise i<  literal,  not  metaphorical :  there  is  no  metaphor 
in  the  use  of  ad  clam,  to  eternity.  The  supposition 
is  contradictory  to  the  law  of  the  metaphor,  which 
always  ascribes  to  that  to  which  it  is  applied,  some 
character,  act,  or  condition  that  is  not  compatible 
with  its  nature,  but  only  in  some  relation  resembles 
what  is  true  of  it.  But  an  endless  continuance  of  the 
Hebrews  by  successive  generations,  is  not  inconsist- 
ent with  their  nature.  Instead,  it  is  precisely  that 
fur  which  their  nature  is  fitted,  and  which  will  cer- 
tainly take  place, unless  they  aro  intercepted  from  it 
by  some  modification  of  their  constitution,  change  in 
the  state  of  the  world,  their  removal  to  another 
scene  of  existence,  or  some  other  extraordinary  mea- 
sure of  Divine  providence.  Nor  is  it  hyperbolical,  or 
a  substitution  of  an  infinite  for  a  finite  period  ; — as  it 
is  not  hyperbolical  in  reference  to  the  nature  of  man, 


160 

or  ii  itution  of  the  world,  t"  p  rnity 

of  ti.  □  of  human  or  11  dj — 

tnoch  ;is  their  natuj 
throi  iod  daring  which  God  pl<  con- 

tinue them  in  exi  r  it-  Length  mag 

ii  ib  literal,  and  not  hyperbolical!  is  Bhown  m 
by  the  prediction  thai  Abraham1 
ai  the  dual  of  the  earth,  bo  thai  to  number  them  will 
a>  much  f  a  human  mind, 

number  the  dual  of  the  earth  does.    Such  ■  proa 
would  no1  be  simply  an  extravagant  h  ;  it 

would  stupendously  miarepn  senl  man's  p 
meration  ;  if,  rally  held,  I 

to  propagate  only  about  one  thousan  Longer — 

as  the  numbor  thai  at  that  time  will  hav< 
being,  will  not,  a1  a  very  large  estim 
bly,  above  700,000,000 — the  work  ofnuml  bom 

would  hear  no  compariaou  in  i 
to  an  enumeration  <»!'  the  duf 

supposition,  however,  that  they  continue  t<>  multiply 
through  eternal  ages,  their  ;  te  will  at  Length, 

from  their  multitude  and  from  the  indeterminate 

of"  the  hOStfl  that  will  rVi.T  -till  he  to  COm 

dividual'! 
of  enumeration,  as  it  but]  number 

the  dual  Of  the  earth. 

This  gifl  was  renewed  in  the  covenant 
made  with  Abraham,  of  which  circumcision  w 
the 

••  Ti.\    name  in  Q  iham  ;   for  i 


Tin:  PMPETUITT  OP  THE  m'.M.vx  BJ  161 

many  nations  have  I  made  thee.  And  I  will  make 
thee  exceeding  fruitful,  and  will  make  cation  - 
and  kings  ahal]  come  out  of  thee.  And  1  will  estab- 
lish my  covenant  betwixt  me  and  thee,  and  thy 
after  thee  in  their  generations  for  a  covenant,  dam, 
of  eternity,  to  be  a  God  unto  thee  and  thy  Beed  after 
thee.  And  I  will  give  onto  thee  and  to  thy  seed  after 
thee,  the  land  wherein  thou  art  a  Btranger,  all  the 
land   of   Canaan  tor  a   p  q,  <J<<m,  of  eternity. 

And  I  will  he  their  God,"  Genesis  xvii.  5-8. 
Thi  .ant  of  eternity  with  Abraham  and  his 

I  after  him  in  their  and  the  gift  to 

them   of   Canaan    Bfl   a    | 

plainly  implies  that  their  generations  arc  to  continue 

t.»  succeed  each  other  for  ever,  and  that  the  earth 
and  Canaan  also,  are  for  ever  to  be  their  res 
For  how  can  Canaan  be  the  possession  of  Abraham's 
seed  for  eternity,  if  it  does  not  continue  for  ever  to 
is  generally  imagined,  after  the  lapse  of 
a  few  hundred  years  more  it  is  to  be  annihilated  ;  or 
to  cease  from  being,  as  the  land  of  Canaan?  How 
can  God's  covenant  with  his  seed  in  their  generations 
to  he  their  <  I  covenant  of  eternity,  if  at  the 

end  of  a  few  hundred  their  generations  reach 

a  limit,  and  the  whole  of  his  posterity  assume  another 
form  of  being,  and  pass   to  anoth  e  of  life,  in- 

volving a  total  abolition  of  that  covenant  ?  For  God's 
promise  to  multiply  his  seed,  and  make  a  covenant 
with  them  of  eternity  as  their  God,  of  which  circum- 
cision was  the  seal,  and  his  gift  to  them  of  Canaan  as 


LC2 

• 
and  covenant  of  eternity,  if  after  a  fewhundr* 
do  more  of  bis  line  come  in t  the 

of  thai  covenant,  and  none  of  his  posterity  have 
I   maim  as  their  inheritance  and  home. 
The  Bame  prom  ( '  maan  fi 

Bion  was  made  to  Jacol        G    I  Almighty  appe 
anto  me,  ami  Baid  unto  me,  Behold  I  will  make  thee 
fruitful,  and  multiply  thee,  and  will  make  of  tfo 
multitude  of  people  ;  and  w  thia  land  t 

:    for  a  ;  id — oiam — of  « ■!■ 

xlviii.  1.     It  wae  1  to  by  Rf<  see  in  hifl 

1 1     ra  promise  to  Abraham,   I  Jacob: — 

"  B  ■'.'.:■  ml  er  Abraham,  I-  I] 

to  whom  th 

unto  them,  I  will  multiply  your  seed  u  I 
heaven,  and  all  this  laud  that  1  1.  ■,•,  ill  l 

.  and  they  Bhall  inherit  it, 
■  In-  xxxii.  L3.     It  was  repeated  by 
M 
Burely  the  land  whereon  thy  feet  h;. 
den  shall  be  thine  inheritance,  and  thy  child: 
.  to  eternity,"  Joshua  xiv.  9. 
The  gift  and  ]>  q  of  the  land  are  thus  in  all 

these  covenants  and  pron  frequently  r< 

ternal.    No  other  period  ia  m< 
no  intimatioi  •  rni- 

v\ 
em]  1  bich  repi  I ha1  the  earth  is  not  to 

• .  and  that  imply  therefore  tl 


Tin:  PEBPETUm  OP  THE  BUM  \.\  RACE.  h'.:; 

ty  is  a  mere  measure  of  a  temporary  continuance  of 
the  thing  given.  The  supposition  thai  Canaan  lb  to 
continue  in  being  but  for  a  few  generations,  and  thai 
their  possession  of  it  is  to  reach  its  end  at  the  dis- 
tance at  the  utmost  of  forty  or  fifty  centuries  after 
M  »ses,  is  as  contradictious  to  the  language  of  th — 
promises,  as  a  similar  supposition  would  be  in  respect 
to  God's  dominion,  reign,  and  existence. 

That  supposition,  moreover,  is  precluded  by  ex- 
press assurance  b,  that  Zion,  Jerusalem,  and  the  laud 
are  to  continue  for  ever,  and  that  God  is  for  ever  to 
reign  there.  "  They  that  trust  in  the  Lord  shall  be 
a-  mounl  Zion  which  cannot  be  removed  hut  abideth 
to  otom,  eternity,"  Ps.  cxxv.  1.  "The  Lord  hath 
chosen  Zion,  lie  hath  desired  it  for  his  habitation. 
This  is  my  rest  for  ever.  Here  will  I  dwell,  for  I  have 
desired  it,"  Ps.  cxxxii.  13,  14.  "  The  Lord  appeared 
to  Solomon,  and  said  unto  him  :  I  have  heard  thy 
prayer  and  thy  supplication  that  thou  hast  made  be- 
fore me  :  I  have  hallowed  this  house  which  thou  hast 
built,  to  pur  my  name  there,  ad  olam,  to  eternity  :  and 
my  eves  and  heart  shall  be  there  (all  days)  perpetu- 
ally. And  it  thou  wilt  walk  before  me,  as  David  thy 
father  walked, in  integrity  of  heart,  and  wilt  keep  my 
statutes  and  my  judgments,  then  will  I  establish  the 
throne  of  thy  kingdom  upon  Israel — olam — to  eterni- 
ty." 1  Kin--  ix.  3-5.  "The  Lord  lias  said.  In  Jerusa- 
lem shall  my  name  l»e — olam — to  eternity. ,?  2  Chron. 
xxxiii.  4.  These,  and  a  great  number  of  other  pas- 
ts, thus  explicitly  teach  that  Zion,  Jerusalem,  and 


I  til 

the  poeaoaaion  throa  din- 

I         d  to  the  r 

Oidy  tin: 

iiaiit  with  Abraham,  and  the 

■nd  .v.ii  to  the  tin*- 

lishmenl  there,  1  in  it  wu  with 

]  distin<  in  all  t], 

,lirI  I  .  i:    kiel, 

and  others,  of  their  exile  for  a  period,  -heir 

1  I  -1.  and  of  their  ultiinat 
and  re-adoption  pie, 

••Tiirv  shall  call  ti.  .',  hovah,  I 

lie  Holy  1 1  1.    Whereas  thou  1. 

iken  and  hated.  ><»  that  n  m  through  • 

I 

.     VI  »1  il  no 

r.l   in    thy  1 
within  thy  borders  :  hut  thou  ahall  call  thy 

i.  and  ;  The  sun  -hall  1  . 

more  thy  light  by  day,  neither  for  brightneas  shall 
the  moon  give  Light  unto  thee  ;  hut  Jehovah  shall  he 
thin.-  lasting         •   and  the  thy 

mourning  BhaO  he  ended.    Thy  | 

all  H  ihal]   inherit   the  In.  —to 

aityfM  [saiah  lx.  1  1  21. 
"Thus  B  ith  th<    Lord  I  boldlwillt 

child  1  from  i  the  heathen,  whit] 

they  '  I  ther  them  on 


Till;  PEBPETUITI  OF  THE  HUMAN  RA(  E.  Hi.) 

and  bring  them  into  their  own  land.    And  I  will  make 

them  one  nation  in  tin' land  upon  the  mountains  of 
[srael,  and  "no  king  shall  be  king  to  them  all;  and 
they  shall  be  no  more  two  nations,  neither  Bhal]  they 

be  divided  into  two  kingdoms  any  more  at  all.      And 

David  iny  servanl  Bhall  ho  king  over  them,  and  they 

all  shall  have  olio  shepherd.      They  shall  also  walk  in 

my  judgments,  and  observe  my  statutes  and  do  them. 

And  they  shall  dwell  in  the  land  that  1  have  given 
unto  Jacob  my  servant,  wherein  your  fathers  have 
dwell  :  and  they  shall  dwell  therein,  they  and  their 
children,  and  their  children's  children,  n<l  clam,  to 
eternity  :  and  my  Bervant  David  shall  be  their  prince, 
l>  cHa/m,  to  eternity.  Moreover,  I  will  make  a  cove- 
nant of  peace  with  them  :  it  shall  be  a  (  ovenant,  clam, 
of  eternity  with  them  ;  and  I  will  place  them,  ami 
multiply  thoin,  and  will  set  my  sanctuary  in  the 
midst  of  them,  h  olam,  to  eternity.  My  taberni 
also  shall  he  with  them  :  yea,  I  will  be  their  God, 
and  they  shall  be  my  people.  And  the  nations  shall 
know  that  I  the  Lord  do  consecrate  [srael,  when  my 
■niary  shall  be  in  the  midst  of  them,  le  clam,  to 
eternity."  Ez<  kiel  xxxvii.  21    28. 

"  In  that  day,  saith  the  Lord,  will  1  assemble  her 
that  halteth,  and  1  will  gather  her  that  is  driven  out, 
and  her  that  1  have  afflicted;  and  1  will  make  her 
that  halteth  a  remnant,  and  her  that  was  cast  tar  off 
a  Btrong  nation:  and  the  Lord  shall  reign  over  them 
in  mount  Zion  henceforth,  and  ad  "hint.  to  eternity. 
And  thou,  0  tower  of  the  flock,  tho  stronghold  of  the 


L66  i'i:i;i'i:ii 

bter  of  Zion,  onto  thee  shall  it  come,  even  the 
first  dominion :  the  kingdom  .-hull  come  to  tb 
i  usalem,"  aficah  iv.  6  8. 
Ti,  imilar  predictioi 

.    Notwithstanding  their 
ins,  they  are  al  l<  agth  to 
be  restored,  and  their  possession  of  the  land  to  eterni- 
ty i-  pledged  to  them  after  their  return, as  absolutely 
aa  it  was  anterior  to  their  banishment.   T  tthey 

have  been  bo  bng  driven  from  it,  ii 
theii  -  it  would  have  been  had  it  i. 

d  wrenched  from  their  pe  of  their 

revolt. 
In  accordance  with  this,  the  continuance  also  to 
aityofthe  Bebr<  aation,and  in  their  land, 

i>  promised  n  ith  equal  explicit™ 

••Thus  Baith  the  Lord  which  givetfa  the  son  t 
light  by  day,  and  the  ordinances  of  the  moon  and 
Btars  for  s  light  by  night,  which  divideth  the 
when  th(  thereof  rear  :  the  Lord  of  Eos! 

oame  ;  if  those  ordini        -      pari  froi 
Baith  the  Lord,  then  the  - 

from  being  a  nation  before  me  for  ever.    Thus  Baith 
the  Lord,  if  heaven  above  can  be  measured,  and 
foundations  of  the  earth  searched  out  beneath,  I  will 
also  cast  off  all  the  seed  of  [srael  for  all  tl 
saith  the  Lord.    Behold  the  daj  a 
Faith  the  Lord,  that  the  city  .-hall  be  built  to  the 
Lord,  from  the  tower  of  Bananeel  anto  the 
the  corner.     And  it   -hall  not   he  plucked  ap,  nor 


THE  PEBPETUn  J   I  L67 

throwo  down  any  more,  le  <»!<ni/.  to  eternity,"  J 

niiah  wxi.  85-40. 

Bare  the  continuance  of  the  Israelites  as  a  nation 
before  Jehovah,  is  declared  to  be  as  sure  as  the  con- 
tinuance of  his  ordinance  that  the  Bnn  shall  give  light 
by  day,  and  the  moon  and  .-tars  by  night.  As  the 
sun.  moon,  and  Btars  were  ereated,  and  are  upheld  by 
Jehovah  ;  as  it  is  his  ordinance  that  they  Bhall  give 
light  to  the  earth  :  and  as  there  is  no  cause  either  in 
them,  or  any  other  created  thing,  that  can  prevent 
them  from  filling  that  office;  it  is  certain  that  they 
will   for  ever  continue  to   shed  light   on  the  earth. — 

So  in  like  manner,  a-  God  creates  and  upholds  the  - 

Israelites,  and  ordains  the  laws  by  which  they  con- 
tinne  their  national  existence  by  new  births  from 
to  age  ;  and  there  is  no  cause  either  in  them,  or 
any  other  part  of  the  created  universe  that  can  pre- 
vent their  continuing  in  that  manner  by  success  v.  • 
gei ie rations  for  ever  :  it  is  sure  that  they  will  so  con- 
tinue as  a  nation  before  him  for  ever.  The  decree  of 
Cm<\.  which  no  created  power  can  intercept  from  ac- 
COmplishment,  makes  the  event  in  one  case  as  certain, 
as  hi-  decree  which  cannot  he  intercepted  from  exe- 
eution,  renders  it  in  the  other.  And  again,  as  it  is 
impossible  lV.au  our  peculiar  nature  that  heaven 
above  can  be  measured  by  us.  or  the  foundations — 
the  central  depths — of  the  earth  beneath,  be  search- 
ed out  by  us  ; — inasmuch  as  they  are  wholly  inacces- 
sible to  us ;  bo  likewise  God's  promise  makes  it  im- 
possible that  he  should  cast  off  all  the  seed  of  Israel, 


rebeilio 
old  be  tu  incoi  .ttri- 

■ 
of  heaven  al  arching  of  the  deptl 

h  beneath,  are  b  at  with  our  phj 

1  that  i  : 

:  nation  befoi 
••  Then  Bhal]  the  B 
them  thai  turn  from  trai  th  the 

t  me,  this  i<  my  covenant  with  then, 
saith  the  Lord.     My  Spirit  that  is  apon  I  I  my 

words  which  I  have  put  in  thy  month,  shall  not  depart 
out  of  thy  month,  nor  out  of  the  month  of  thy  - 
nor  out   of  the  mouth  of  t! 
L     1.  from  now  and  to  eternity,"  Isaiah  21. 

Ti  specific  a  pie 

that  I 

turns,  Qtinne  I  ity. 

••  For  aa  the  ne*  heavens  and  the  new  earth  which 
I  will  make  Bhall  remain  before  in-',  saith   t' 

iall  voc  remain.     And  it 

shall  from    one    new   moon  to  alio! 

and  from  one  Sabbath  to  another,  shall  all  flesh  come 

to   worship   before   me,  saith    the    Lord,w  I-aiah    lwi. 

•  T      !  Zion,and  utter  his 

id  the  heavens  and  the  earth 

Bhall   .-hake;   hnt    the    Lord   will   be   the  hop. 
I.-!  tli-'  strength  of  the  children  i 


THE  PERPETUITY  OF  THE  BUMAH  i:\<  B.  L69 

ihall  ye  know  that  I  am  the  Lord  your  God,  dwell- 
ing in  Zion,  my  holy   mountain.     Then  shall  .Je: 
lem  be  holy,  and  there  shall  do  strangers  pass  through 

bef  any  more.      And  it  shall  OOme  to  paSfl  in  that  day, 

the  mountains  shall  drop  down  new  wine,  and  the 
hills  shall  llow  with  milk,  and  all  the  rivers  of  Judah 
shall  llow  with  waters,  and  a  fountain  shall  come  forth 
of  the  house  of  the  Lord,  and  shall  water  the  valley 
of  Shittim  :  Egypt  Bhall  he  a  desolation  ;  and  Edom 
shall  ho  a  desolate  wilderness.  But  Judah  Bhall  dwell 
ternity,  ami  Jerusalem  unto  generation  and  gen- 
eral:  1  iii.  16-20. 

The  perpetuity  of  the  Israelites,  as  a  nation,  and 
their  residence  in  Canaan  for  ever,  is  thus  made  as 
certain,  as  the  fulillinent  of  God?s  ordinance  is,  that 
the  earth  and  the  sun,  the  moon  and  the  stars,  shall 
exist  for  ever.  As  the  new  heavens  and  the  new- 
earth  are  to  remain  before  him  for  ever  ;  as  the  Jeru- 
salem he  is  to  create  a  rejoicing,  is  to  be  an  excellence 
of  eternity,  a  joy  of  generation  to  generation  in  an 
everlasting  succession  ;  so  their  seed  and  their  name 
are  to  remain  for  ever.  They  are  to  dwell  in  Jeru- 
rnity.  They  are  to  people  Judea  through 
the  round  of  unending  ages. 


1  7 1 1  TH 1 


c  ii  a  PT  i:  B  xiv. 

TllK    1'KHrKTLITY    01    THK    HUMAN    I 

The  covenant  with  Noah  and  his  posterity, 
pron  Abraham  of  an  ever  oontinui 

the  everlastii  in  by  them  of  the  land  of  < 

naan,  indicate,  as  we  have  Bhown  in  th< 
chapter,  that  the  earth  is  forever  I 
bode  of  human  bein 
< »:,  the  institution  of  a  monarchy  i  \  >i  It 
tin    elevation  of  David  to  the  throne,  these  pl< 
and  predictions  of  t!  atmnao 

nation  and  j  >n  of  the  Land      I 

and  confirmed  by  n< 
tions  that  the  kingdom  oi   [an    1  should  continu 

lity.  and  its  throne  be  filled  by  the  Beed  of  David. 

Thus  hie  promise  to  David  was  : — "I  will  Bet  ap  thy 

;  after  thee,  and  I  will  establish  the  throne  of  his 

kingdom,  ad  61am,  to  eternity*    Thy  hoi  I  thy 

dom  shall  be  establish 
And  it  was  interpreted  bj  D 
perpetuity  of  his  family,  his  throne  and  the  nal 
t«»r  in  his  praj er  in  i  to  the  | 


Tin;  PBBPETUITX  OF  THE  HUMAN  Bi  171 

u  For  thou  lnist  confirmed  to  thyself  thy  people  [srael, 
to  be  a  people  Qnto  thee,  ad  olam,  to  eternity,  and 
thou  Lord  art  become  their  God.  And  now,  0  Lord 
God,  the  word  thai  thon  hasl  BpokeD  concerning  thy 
servant,  ami  concerning  his  house,  establish  it.  ad 
clam,  to  eternity.  Ami  let  thy  name  be  magnified, 
ad  olam,  to  eternity,  Baying,  the  Lord  of  Hosts  is  the 

Qod  over  Israel.      And  Mess  the  honsfi  of  thy  servant 

thai  it  may  continue  before  thee,"  2  Samuel  vii.  12- 
15  ;  2-1  29.  That  the  Israelites  are  for  -.ever  to  con- 
tinue as  a  nation,  and  as  God's  chosen  people,  is  thus 
expressly  recognised  by  David,  and  it  is  od  that  pur- 
pose that  die  promise  La  made  to  him  of  the  establish- 
ment of  his  throne  over  them  to  eternity,  and  the 
everlasting  reign  on  it  of  his  seed. 

This  promise  is  frequently  renewed,  and  the  eter- 
nal reign  of  David's  posterity  on  his  throne  exhibited 
as  one  of  the  most  essential  and  glorious  of  God's  pur- 
poses of  mercy  to  that  people  and  the  world.  Thus, 
the  author  of  Psalm  lxxxix.  4,  29,  36,  37,  in  singing 
of  the  mercies  of  Jehovah  to  eternity,  and  making 
known  his  faithfulness  to  generation  and  generation, 
cites,  as  an  exemplification  of  it,  this  promise  to  David  : 
— '•  I  have  made  a  covenant  with  my  chosen,  I  have 
Bworn  unto  David  ;  thy  Beed  will  1  establish  for  ever, 
and  build  up  thy  throne  to  all  generations  :  my  mefoy 
will  1  keep  for  him,  ad  olam,  to  eternity:  and my  cov- 
enant shall  Btand  fast  with  him.  His  seed  also  will  I 
make  to  endure  for  ever,  and  his  throne  as  the  days 
of  heaven.     His  Beed  sh;dl  endure  le  olam,  to  eternity, 


172 

and  his  throi 

the 

an<l  tl  human  [ 

• 
!.  and  hi 

I  i  >W  that    • 

whom  these  pro  fulfil- 

rael,  but  the  King  of  all  ki;  !.         f  all 

is. 
••  Onto  us  a  child  La  born  ;  ant 

rnment  shall  be  upon  hie  Bhould 

his    ;  .  < 

i:  ernity,  t: 
I'        .     of  tin-  IncTi  t  and  ]•• 

there  Bhall  I  1  upon  I 

apon  his  kin  bliah  it  with 

judgment  ami  with  justice  1. 
eternity.     The  zeal  of  th    Lord  of  1    $te  will  ] 
this/'  Isaiah  i.\.  I 

Bere  both  his  humanity  and  hi 
ami  his  reign  en  tlu'  thron  .    rid,  and  oyer  bis 

kingdom,  an  I  I  the  fan  Fa  right 

arch,  it   i  -hull  be  1 

prediction  i:  iah. 

•■  B  h  '  :  •  dth  the  Lord,  tl. 

! 

I  an  1  t" 


tii;:  .11:  n  1  •  m a x  RACE.  173 

the  house  of  Judah.  In  those  days,  and  at  thai  time 
will  1  cause  the  Branch  of  righteousness  to  gro%  up 
unto  David  ;  and  he  Bhall  execute  judgment  lil"' 
righteousness  in  the  land.  In  those  days  shall  Judah 
be  saved,  and  Jerusalem  shall  dwell  safely.  And  this 
i-;  the  name  whereby  he  shall  be  called,  the  Lord  our 
Righteousness.  For  thus  Baith  the  Lord  :  David  shall 
never  want  a  man  to  sit  upon  the  throne  of  the  lion-'' 
of  [srael  :  neither  shall  the  priests,  the  Levites,  want 
a  in  r  burnt  offerings,  and  to  kin- 

dle •  and  to  do  sacrifice  continually, — 

Ami  the  word  of  the  Lord  eame  nnto  Jeremiah,  Bay- 

:  Thus  Baith  the  Lord  :  If  ye  can  break  my  cove- 
nant of  tin'  «lav,  and  my  covenant  of  the  night,  and 
that  there  should  not  be  day  and  night  in  their  season  ; 
then  may  also  my  covenant  be  broken  with  David  my 

.  ;iit.  that  he  should  not  have  a  son  to  reign  upon 
his  throne,  and  with  the  Levites  the  priests  my  minis- 
Ajb  the  host  of  heaven  cannot  be  numbered, 
neither  the  Band  of  the  sea  measured  ;  so  will  I  mul- 
tiply tli  David  my  servant,  and  the  Levites 
that  minister  unto  me."  Jeremiah  xxxiii.  14-22. 

It  is  thus  not  only  promised  most  expressly  that 
there  shall  never  be  a  period  after  their  restoration, 
when  a  1  :it   of  David   Bhall  not  sit  upon  the 

throne  of  the  hou  .  but  it  i  - 

-  impossible  that  that  purpose  of  Jehovah  should 
be  prevented   from    i  mplishment,  as  it   is  that 

men  slnaiM  annul  his  ordinance  respecting  the  - 

'on  of  day  and   night.      A-   to  put   an  end  to  the 


17  1  THE 

mplishm 
purpose,  thai  th<  I  rut- 

.  the  throne  of  Israel,  is  oul  man 

and  ;i"  other  on  .11 

.r  the  descendant      ■    D  inlti- 

plied,  so  that  their  multitude  shall  I 

:'  enumeration,  as  tl.-  .  in- 

finite hosts  of  which  lie  prholly  beyond  th< 
his  vision.     It  is  to  impossil 

tlu-ir  hosts  thai  are 

in  the  hulk  of  the  sands  of  tl  iring 

them  ;  ilt  that  is  infallibly  if  they 

t  i ime  and  multiply  in  an  endle 

but  that  other*  i  iainly  c  con- 

tttly  with  the  laws  of  nature. 
Tl.  ition  an<l  p]  I oity  of 

and  the 

al  the  annunciation 
•  brist's  birth  to  Mary.     "  B  ihold  thou  shah 
d  1  bring  forth  a  son,  and  shah  call  his  n 
Jesus.     He  Bhall  .  1  shall  be  called  the  S 

of  the  High<  at     A- .  :  ; I     Lord  G    I  shall  g 
him  the  tin-  bii  father  David  :  and  he  shall 

i  over  the  1:  J      >b  through  tfc 

Of  his  kingdom  there  shall  1.  • 
All   tl: 

contemplate  the  continuance  through  eternal 

■.  and  his  rule  ovei  tin  i 
the  i  ial  in  >narch,  in 


THE  PERPETCITY  OF  tin:  iitmax  i:.\<  i:.  175 

tinctioD  from  other  nations.  It  is  everywhere  pre- 
sented as  an  essential  feature  in  his  purposes;  an 
(.•lenient  of  the  greatest  significance  in  the  adminis- 
tration under  which  ho  is  to  rescue  the  world  from 
ruin,  and  raise  it  to  the  beauty  and  glory  of  an  obe- 
dient empire. 

Accordingly,  in  all  the  great  prophetic  representa- 
tions of  his  reign  over  the  earth  alter  he  assume 

tre,  his  kingdom  here  is  exhibited  in  the  most 
express  and  emphatic  manner,  as  to  continue  for  ever, 
and  over  mankind  in  their  division  into  nations,  and 
in  their  natural  life.  Thus  it  was  declared  to  Daniel, 
that  on  the  destruction  of  the  fourth  kingdom  repre- 
sented by  the  legs  and  feet  of  the  great  image  ;  "  the 
God  of  heaven  shall  set  up  a  kingdom  which  shall 
never  bo  destroyed  ;  and  the  kingdom  shall  not  be 
left  to  other  people  ;  but  it  shall  break  in  pieces  and 
consume  all  other  kingdoms,  and  it  shall  stand  to 
eternities,"  Daniel  ii.  44.  It  is  to  be  a  kingdom 
therefore  in  this  world,  and  thence  a  kingdom  over 
human  beings.  It  is  to  extend  itself  over  all  the 
other  kingdoms  of  the  world,  and  therefore  embrace 
the  whole  territory  and  population  of  the  earth.  It 
continue  to  eternity,  and  it  is  to  be  the  king- 
dom of  heaven,  which  Christ  is  to  establish,  and  over 
which  he  is  to  reign. 

In  the  vision,  accordingly,  in  the  seventh  chapter 
of  Daniel,  of  the  institution  of  this  kingdom,  on  tho 
destruction  of  tho  powers  of  the  fourth  empire  de- 
noted by  the  wild  beast,  it  is  expressly  represented 


thai  ith  \\lii< 

minion 

irth, 

stural    ];.  that 

i  oyer  I 
i 
like  a  Bon  ol  una  in  the  cloud 

came  to  the  Ancient  of  days,  and  they  bron 

him,  and  tin 
and  glory,  and  a  kingdom,  that  all  pe 
languages  Bhonld  Berve  him.     Hi-  dominion  ii 
minion  of  eternity,  which  shall 
his  kingdom  that  which  shall  n<  I 
18,  1  I. 

\  i  language  could  m  I  hat  the 

dominion  with  which  he  is  thus  to  be  invested  on  the 

if  the  rulers  oi  the  fourth  kingdom,  i 
dominion  of  this  world  :  thai  the  rule  he  i 

mankind  in  the  natural  life  ;  I 
stand  to  all  the  |  .  nations,  and  lai 

unto  which  they  are  divided  ;  and  tl 
tinue  niiv.    T 

•  interpn 
Spiri  of   the    vision,   in    which    it 

judgment  and  destruction  of  ti. 
:  by  the  wild  be 
minion,  and  the  the  kingdom  under 

iven  to  the  Baint 
m  is  a  kingd  eternity, 

all  dominions  BhaU  bim,"  r.  26    27, 


I  hi:  PERPETUITY  OP  THE  HUMAN  l:  \<  i:. 

The  Bcene  of  the  kingdom  is  thus  represented  to  be 
under  our  skies ;  all  thai  lies  beneath  the  circuit  ui' 
our  atmosphere:  it  Is  declared  to  be  a  kingdom  of 
eternity,  and  a  kingdom  in  which  the  Baints  of  the 
Ifosl  1 1  i,-li  shall  reign  ;  which  slmws  again  that  the 

people,  nations,  and  tongues,  over  whom  Chri-l   [g  bo 

reign  and  exercise  an  eternal  dominion,  are  human 
beings  in  the  natural,  not  in  a  glorified  life  :  lor  how- 
can  the  saints  of  the  Bfosl   II  igh  have  human  BUb- 
jects  over  whom  they  can  reign?  The  kingdom  which 

the  saints  are  to  take  on  the  destruction  of  the  fourth 

Bt,  and   |  i-r  ever,   i-  to  be  a  kingdom  of 

human  beings,  as  much  as  the  kingdoms  of  the  be 

were.      Hut  if  all  the  human  beings  who  are  then  to 

dwell  on  the   earth  are   to  be  glorilied,  and  all  are  to 

reign,  they  can  have  no  human   subjects.     For  if  all 

reign,  and  thence  are  of  equal  authority  in  respect  to 

each  other,  what  can  be  clearer  than  that  they  will 

have  no  authority  at  all  over  one  another,  but  will  all 

1  on  precisely  the  same  level?    But  the  saints  of 

the  Most  High  who  are  to  possess  the  kingdom,  are, 

the  prophecy  teaches,  the  saints  whom  the  little  horn 

had  worn  out  and  slaughtered  through  a  long  succes- 

:.d.  as  is  shown  in  the  vision  in  the 

of  the  Brsl   resurrection,  are  risen  and 

re,  as  they  are  all  to  be 

kings  unto  God  and   CI.  1  are   to   reign  with 

him,  the  Bui  .    r  whom  they  are  to  reign  are 

indubitably  I  >ple,  nations,  and  tongues,  over 

whom   Christ    is   to    receive   dominion  ;    and  thence 


. 
tini; 

I 

• 

T  tthei   nii*l 

.th  trumpet,  th< 
heaven,  thai  prodaii 

i .  I 

p.  zi.  1  ■'  dngdom 

of  the  world  which  is  then  to  become  his,  i-  the  king- 
dom rw  soop  <  «i*  human  1 
some  other  sphere,  bni  of  I  .  the  birth] 

residence  of  mankind.    It  is  ].  irdingly 

and  over  liuniaii  subjects  that  he  li 
rule.    This  is  Bhown,  1  by 

the  i  >  ho  fell  rshipped,  m 

I  by  him  :  pro- 

claimed, "  hi  -  tile  nati 

time  ken  th;  and  the 

time  to  reward  those  who  fear  hi  —the  In 

— both  small  an  I  putably 

human  I  nd  in  the  natural  life.    Tl 

ruK-rs  and  peopl  and  implacable  enen 

lient  children  who  inhabit  I 

od  coming.    And  the  period  daring  which  1. 

;  through 
b, — thai 

with   equal  explicitnees,  tl 
Ohrisl  b  .        imenced  1 

earth,  the  nation  atinue  h 


Tin:  raRPETUlTI  OF  tin:  him w  &AGB.  170 

to  be  sanctified  and  save.].    For  the  apostle  dec] 
in  reaped  to  tho  New  Jerusalem,  which  ho  saw 
Mending  out  of  heaven  : — 

"And  I  saw  do  temple  therein  ;  for  the  Lord  God 
Almighty  and  the  Lamb  are  the  temple  of  it.  And 
the  city  has  no  Deed  of  the  sun  nor  tho  moon,  that 
they  may  li.^ht  it :  for  the  glory  of  God  lights  it,  and 
the  Lamb  is  its  lamp.  And  the  nations  shall  walk  in 
its  light,  and  the  kings  of  the  earth  .-hall  bring  their 
glory  and  honor  to  it.  And  its  gates  shall  not  bo  shut 
by  day  (for  there  is  do  night  there),  and  they  shall 
bring  the  glory  and  honor  of  the  nations  to  it.  And 
nothing  shall  enter  it  that  is  unclean, and  that  works 
defilement  and  falsehood ;  but  they  only  who  are  writ- 
ten in  the  Lamb's  book  of  life. 

"  And  he  showed  me  a  river  of  water  of  life  pure  as 
crystal,  proceeding  from  the  throne  of  God  and  the 
Lamb.     In  the  midst  of  the  broad  place,  and  on  each 
of  the  river,  was  the  tree  of  life,  bearing  twelve 
fruits,  according  to  each  month  yielding  its  fruit,  and 
the  leaves  of  the  tree  were  for  the  healing  of  the  na- 
tions.    And  there  shall  be  no  curse  any  more.     And 
the  throne  of  God  and  of  the  Lamb  shall  be  in  it  ; 
And  his  servants  shall  serve  him.     And  they  shall 
;;is  face,  and  his  name  shall  be  on  their  foreheads. 
And  they  shall  rale  as  kings  through  the  ages  of 
bap;  xxi.  23-£7  ;  xxii.  1-5. 

It  is  thus  as  clearly  revealed  here,  that  the  Lord 
God  and  the  Lamb  are  to  bo  visibly  present  with 
those  on  the  earth  whom  the  city  represents,  as  it  is 


I  BO 

thai  the  citj  th  from 

o,  th.it  those  wh 
by  the  city,  who  ad  whom  God  Lights  with  his 

be  lighl 
.  the  cations  ;  for  the  latter  walk  in  the  li.urht  of  the 
city  and  bring  their 
bj  mboliz<  -1  by  the  city  and 

•  '1  in  the  vision  I  L  ml   -     ife-   whi 

the  denominative  of  the  i 

9,  10.    The  oati  therefore,  the  literal  nations 

of  the  earth  ;   the  people  and  I 
Chri  ived  dominion  at  his  coming  in  th 

to  the  Anci<  1 1  aiel  vii.  13,  14,  thai 

Bhonld  mtv*'  him.    This  is  shown,  also,  by  their  1  ■ 
healed  by  tl< 
maki  that  th( 

rth   in   the   natural   1 
Chri  ad  coin:.  during  i  and  the 

:i  of  the  sail:; 

that  he  himself  ie  to  be  visibly  \  i  by 

the  risen  and  glorified  saints  denoted  by  the  city,  and 
that  tlu-y  a:  through  the 

Th  thai  mankind  shall  i 

tinue  to  inhabil  the  earth,  and  multiply  through  an 
endl(  ngh.1  in 

Scriptur 

inwoven #in  the  whole  web  of  revelation.     It  is  indi- 
i  in  the  command  to  the  firsl  pair,  to  be  fruitful 


THE  PERPETUITY  OP  Tin:  HUMAN  RACE.  1  51 

and  multiply  and  replenish  the  earth,  and  subdue  ii  ; 
— a  command  which  lias  never  been  rescind*  d,  and 
which  implies  thai  the  earth  is  to  be  the  birthplace 
and  dwelling  of  the  human  race  as  long  as  it  exists. 
It  is  revealed  in  the  covenanl  with  Noah  and  his  sons, 
for  generations  of  eternity.  It  is  expressly  predicted 
and  pledged  in  the  covenant  with  Abraham,  l» 
and  Jacob,  and  the  Hebrews  on  their  establishment 
in  Canaan.  It  is  revealed  and  promised  in  the  pie 
to  David,  t  lie  firsl  monarch  ancestor  of  Christ,  thai  his 

1  shall  reign  to  eternity  on  his  throne,  and  over 
his  kingdom  of  Israel.  It  is  revealed  in  the  predic- 
tions that  the  Son  of  the  Virgin,  the  God-man,  WAS  to 
be  the  descendant  of  David  who  should  for  ever,  reign 
on  his  throne.  The  prophecies  of  Christ's  coming  in 
the  clouds  and  receiving  the  dominion  of  the  earth, 
foreshow  that  mankind  in  the  natural  life — people, 
nations,  and  tongues, — are  to  be  the  subjects  of  his 
eternal  reign  on  the  earth.  And  finally,  it  is  fore- 
shown in  the  visions  of  his  reign  on  the  earth  after 
his  Becond  coming,  that  the  nations  are  still  to  exisl 

.  and  are  to  continue  in  an  endless  series  of  gen- 
be  subjects  of  his  sway.     It  i-  thus 
presented  in  a  conspicuous  manner  at  each  of  the 
iges  of  the  revelations  God  has  made  ;  it  en- 
it  into  all  the  covenants  ;  it  is  woven 
into  all  the  greal  predict]  I  delineations  of  the 

kingdom  and  reign  of  Christ.  It  lie-  at  the  basis,  as 
it  were,  (A'  the  work  of  redemption,  and  was  contem- 
plated in  all  the  measures  that  were  preparatory  to 


Jin. 

Chri  •  ion  ;  it  • 

ing  himself  for  the  wfa  it  ii 

contemplated  in  hi-  eternal  priesthood,  and  the  ii 

r  for  those  coming  unto  God  by 
him,  through  the  round  And  tl 

tations  in  tl.    : 

there  ii  not  i  hint  in  them  that 
:  to  be  annihilated,  or  thai  tl. 
h  a  point  beyond  which 
tione  or  individuals  are  to  come  into 

This  great  purpose  of  the  Most  II  ••  of  the 

most  important  that  he  h  aled  to  ni :  and 

knowledge  of  it  is  essential  in  order  to  un 
irefl  of  hifl  administratioi 
pecially  the  incarnation,  sacrifice,  and  reign  of  Christ. 
Without  it.  no  adequate  impression  can 

his  aima  and  the  grandeur  od 
mptdonheisl  mplish.    Those  who  imag 

that  OUT  earth  is  the  only  World  that  that  the 

other  planets,  the  sun  and  the  - 

littering  pointa  set  in  the  arch  of  th 

iter  hulk  than   the   ODJ& 

that  arc  of  the  same  apparent  dinicnsiui  -  .t  in 

a  greater  error  in  respect  to  the  illimitabli 

.[•ire,  than  they  are  in  respect   to   t:. 

<      let's]        .      1  the  infinite  crowds  who 

.  by  him  from  age  to  age,  who  imagine 
that  the  race  has  already  nearly 
that  within  about  a  thousand  y<  whole  num- 

t'  human  beings  that  an 


THE  PERPETUITI  OP  THE  HUMAS  B  LCI.  1  33 

oome  in!"  life  :  and  thai  the  work  of  redemption, 
cordingly,  Is  to  be  circumscribed  within  those  narrow 
limits. 

This  great  purpose  of  God  respecting  our  race,  con- 
futea  the  theory  of  Anti-millenarianism.  Thai  narrow 
Bcheme,  the  creature  of  human  speculation,  contem- 
plates no  such  everlasting  work  of  redemption.  It 
has  no  place  for  bo  vast  and  glorious  a  display  of  the 
Divine  wisdom  and  goodness.  Instead,  it  holds  thai 
the  work  of  Baving  man  is  soon  to  reach  its  end  ;  thai 
the  redemption  of  a  small  part  of  those  who  come 
into  existence,  is  all  that  God  designs;  and  that  the 
grand  measures  by  which  a  further  extension  of  the 
evils  of  the  tall  is  to  be  prevented  arc,  the  intercep- 
tion of  the  race  from  a  further  multiplication  by  a  re- 
moval of  them  to  other  worlds,  and  the  annihilation 
of  the  earth 


1*1 


i  a  pt  i:  B   x  v  . 

CHB  hjh. 

The  most  important  question  l 

and  Auti-milk-nana: 

nature  of  ;  the 

th  dnringthe  millennium.     Pre-millenniali 

that 

sainl  lb  t - »  reign  in  | 

during  thai 
mUlenariane  hold  that  hie 

olj  snch  .  in- 

(faiences,  laws,  ami  provi  and  that  he 

raise  the  judge  the  living  till  . 

the  millenninm  I  It  i-.  1. 

■r  insufficient  and  arbitrary  grounds.    There 
few  future  events  predicted  with  such  clear 
and  amplitude  as  that   I 

that 

r  it  in  : 

rth. 


CHBI8T  is  TO  COME  BEFORE  THE  Mil. I. i:\.\irM.      L85 
There  la  no  prophecy  thai  either  expressly  dec] 

Or  naturally  implies  that  his  BOCOnd  advent  is  to  fol- 
low, instead  of  preceding  the  thousand  years.  There 
is  no  declaration,  nor  hint,  nor  any  thing  that  can 
consistently  with  the  laws  of  language  be  construed 
ing  that  his  reign  on  the  earth  is  not  to  be  a 
reign  in  person  and  visible  glory,  but  only  by  the 
Spirit,  by  laws,  and  by  providences.  It  is  by  an  ar- 
bitrary rejection  ^['  the  natural  sense  of  the  predic- 
tions rting  his  coming  and  reign,  and  substitu- 
tion in  their  place  of  a  fanciful  meaning  by  a  process 
of  spiritualization,  that  Anti-millenarians  force  them 
to  yi.dd  ;i  Beeming  attestation  to  their  theory. 

•J.  It  is  consonant  to  Christ's  nature  as  Jehovah- 
man,  and  the  ends  of  his  mediation,  that  he  should 
;n  here  in  person  in  accomplishing  the  redemp- 
tion of  the  race.  He  is  himself  in  his  finite  nature 
of  our  race.  What  so  natural  and  appropriate  as 
that  he  should  reign  in  that  person  over  our  race, 
rather  than  in  some  distant  realm  that  is  the  habita- 
tion of  a  different  order  of  intelligent  beings  ?  The 
work  of  redeeming  men  is  the  most  important  mea- 
sure oi'  his  administration,  and  is  to  exert  a  vaster 
and  more  momentous  influence  on  the  other  orders  of 
his  subjects  than  any  other  act  of  his  government. — 
How  natural  and  fitting  that  this  world  where  he  is 
to  make  the  most  glorious  display  of  his  per! 
and  whence  the  most  powerful  and  beneficent  influ- 
ences are  to  emanate  to  all  other  parts  of  his  empire 


1  v''»       •  !i         .  HE  MILLENNIUM. 

■herald  be  n 

But  it  sled  tint  his  naming  in 

th<-  clouds  of  heaven  and  n  the  dominion  of 

the  earth,  ii  to  take  pla 

the  nations,  and  thei  :  1 1  i  1 1 « - 1 1 1 1  i  - 

uni.    Alter  the  vision  of  the  i  m  and 

tion  of  the  fourth  b<  prophet  Daniel  says:    '  I 

inned  to  Look  in  the 
hold  one  like  the  Son  of  man  came  with  the  cloud 
heaven,  and  he  advanced  toward  the  An- 
and  they  brought  him  near  before  him.    And  tl 

given  him  dominion,  and  glory,  and  a  kingdom, 
that  all  people,  and  d  and  tong 

him  :  his  dominion  ifl  rlasting  dominion  which 

shall  not  pass  away  :  and  his  kingdom  o  shall 

not   be  destroyed.71  Chap.  vii.  13,  14.     B  -       ming 
thus  in  person  in  tfa 

of  divine  >\  mbole  iifl  really 

in  person  in  the  clouds  at  the  epoch  of  the 
tion  of  the  powers  denoted  by  the  fourth 
which  the  vision  relates ;  and  is  1. 
he  himself  has  Bhown  in  hi  lion  to  the  high  pi 

that  he  was  '•  the  Son  of  Gk>dtM  and  declarat 
u  hereafter  shall  ye  see  the  Son  of  man  aittin 
right  hand  of  power,  and  coming  in  the  clouds 

M  ••.  .31. 

Thai  it  ifl  to  precede  the  conversion  of  the  u 

from  it-  being  of  the  epoch  of  the  destruction 
ofthi  \  ail 


cram  is  10  come  bbfoi  [illenniuic.     I  ^7 

against  the  saints  till  the  time  of  Christ's  coming  ; 
and  from  the  consideration  thai  it  Is  then  thai  the 
empire  of  this  world  is  to  be  first  given  to  Christ, 
and  that  his  reception  of  it  is  to  be  in  order  that  ;ill 
people,  nations,  and  Languages  may  Berve  him,  which 
they  will  never  previously  have  done.  There  are 
Bymbolizationa  also  in  the  A.pocalypse  of  his  coming 
with  his  heavenly  h<»ts  in  power  and  glory  at  the 
destruction  of  the  beast  and  its  armies  under  the 
sixth  seal  and  the  seventh  trumpet,  which  are  indis- 
putably to  precede  the  millennium,  Rev.  six.  11-21; 
xi.  15-18;  v i .  12—17.  These  visions  admit  of  no  other 
construction.  They  determine  the  time  of  his  second 
coming  t<>  be  that  of  the  overthrow  of  tin.*  anti-chris- 
tian  powers,  with  as  absolute  certainty  as  it  could 
have  been  expressed  in  a  language  prophecy.  It  is 
revealed  also  with  equal  clearness  in  the  language 
prophecies.  Thus,  it  is  foreshown  that  the  destruc- 
tion of  the  man  of  sin  is  to  take  place  at  the  time  of 
Christ's  coming,  because  that  usurper  is  to  be  con- 
sumed by  the  spirit  of  his  month,  and  destroyed  by 
the  brightness  of  his  coining,  2  Thess.  ii.  6,  and  that 
the  Lord  Jesus  shall  be  revealed  from  heaven  with 
his  mighty  angels  in  flaming  fire,  when  he  takes  ven- 
geance on  them  that  know  not  God,  and  that  obey 
not  the  gospel  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  who  shall 
be  punished  with  everlasting  destruction  from  the 
presence  of  the  Lord  ami  from  the  glory  of  his  power, 
when  he  shall  come  to  be  glorified  in  his  saints,  and 
admired  in  all  them  that  believe,  2  Thess.  i.  7-10. 


188    ci 

•I  to  thrones  in  I 
dom. 

1.    I;    ;  '1  that   i 

Burrection  of  the  hoi; 

at  the  commencement  of  the  the 

this  we  say  onto  yon  by  the 

I  them  which 

the  Lord  himself  BhaU  d  d  with  a 

shunt,  with  tin-  \  1  and  the  tramp 

< .       and  the  dead  in  Christ  .-hall 
Thess.  iv.  I"..  L6.    "  For  as  in  Adam  all 
in  Chrisl  BhaU  all  be  made  alive.     J)  in  in 

bis  own  band  ;  Christ 
they  that  are  Christ1 

!..;."  i  i 

2 1.     Bui  the  r  «nrrection  of  the  hoi; 
place  before  the  thoi 
shoi  ut.  4  «•.  wh 

tion  to  I  n  to  thr 

the  Spirit   to  be  Bjmbota  of  th 
ami  it  is  declared  that  th  Chrisl 

daring  the  thousand  A-  then  th 

tion  is  t.»  precede  tin-  thousand 

with  Christ,  and  as  Chri- 

plac 

to  precede  the  thou  of  their  with 

him. 


OHBIST  tS  10  COME  BBPOl  I  u.  i:\.\iim.      I  39 

This  is  confirmed  also  by  the  fart  thai  those  who  are 
to  I"-  raised  are  to  be  divided  into  bands,  and  that 
those  bands  are  to  be  raised  at  differenl  periods. 

Now  as  the  resurrection  foreshown,  1  Cor.  xv.  22, 
is  the  resurrection  of  mankind  universally  thai  die  ; 
and  as  those  who  an>  to  rise  are  i"  be  distributed  into 

irate  bands  and  according  to  their  character,  i 
shown  by  the  resurrection  of  those  who  are  Christ's 
in  a  band  by  themselves  at  his  comii  lear  thai 

the  unholy  are  to  form  a  banoj  by  themselves.     And 
as  the  bands  are  to  rise  in  bq  d  at  different  pe- 

riods, it  is  clear  that  the  band  of  the  unholy  isto] 
at  a  different  and  later  time  than  the  holy. 

That  the  unholy  are  to  form  a  hand  by  theiic 
en  from  the  declaration,  "-  All  shall  be  made  alive, 
hut  every  one  in  his  own  hand  ;"  and  the  definition 
of  the  firsl  hand  as  Christ,  perhaps  including  those 
who  rose  with  him  ;  and  of  the  second  as  consisting 
of  those  who  are  Christ's.  As  the  unholy  are  not  in- 
cluded in  the  second  band,  they  must  of  course  form 
another  band  by  th<  -  :  and  this  is  indicated 

by    the    term    vim — his    own    band,   which   doubl 
means  the  band  to  which  he  belongs  by  his  charac 
and  the  nature  of  the   resurrection   he   is  to  receive, 
livery  one  who  is  Christ's  belongs  to  the  band  thi 
to  be  rai  '  ,r.v  :111,1  admitted  to  immortal  life  in 

his  king  !  that  band  is  his  own  band  ;  that  in 

which  his  character  and  relations  to  Christ  place  him. 
y  one  who  is  not  Christ's,  belongs  to  the  band 
whose  names  are  not  written  in  the  Lamb's  book  of 


190      <  I 

and  who  are  to  i  mpt. 

in  which  hii  characfc 
I  'hrist  place  bim.     i\ 

Ibntion  of  them  which  is  t<>  taki 

to  their  cha  ml  the  i. 

the  i  tion  of  n  bich  tl 

tli.tt  the  unholy  are  to  form  s  band  l 
it  Is  t h;tt  the  holy  are,  who  it  la  expi 

!  as  ■  band  by  th< 
coming. 

Jt  i>  equally  certain,  also,  from  the 
time,  that  the  resnrraction  of  tin 
different  periods.    The  terms 

-  of  timei  -  they  ai  I,  of 

times  thai  are  in  ■  series.     The  first,  Christ  :  which, 
as  the  event  has  shown,  *  -  that  next  in  order, 

more  than   • 

they  that  are  Christ's  at  his  com  thai 

— that  i-  still  later 

the  Apocalypse  Bhows,  ofa  vast  rem: 
the  last  band  in  the  train.     I 
a  time  that  iqnenl  to  thai  den<  I 

when   those   who   are    Child 

tee  a  time  that  is  rahsequenl  to  Chris;' 
snrrection.    The 

show  that  the  resurrection  of  the  holy  dead  is  to  I 
place  at  a  di  from  Christ's  n 

that  distance  ia  defii  ^tending  to  I 

and  the  in  like  manner, 

shuw  that  the  reaun  :'  the  last  hand  i 


OHBIST  is  to  COME  BEFORE  THE  KILLENNH  m.        1(.)1 

place  ;it  a  later  period  than  the  resurrection  of  the 
holy;  and  its  period  is  defined  aa  that  at  which 
Christ,  having  put  down  all  his  enemies,  is  to  deliver 
up  to  the  Father  the  Bceptre  of  the  universe  which 

he  received  at  his  exaltation,  and  commence  his  ever- 
lasting reign,  exclusively,  over  this  world  and  race. 

Ivra    is  used  in  this  Bense,  Mark  i\\  28  '.  "  For  the  earth 

spontaneously  brings  forth  fruit,  first  the  blade  j 

then,  thai    LB,  next,  the    car;  bIto,  afterwards   the   full 

grain  in  the  ear."  It  is  used  in  a  like  manner,  1  Cor. 
xii.  28,  to  denote  ail  analogous  gradation  in  a  series 
of  miraculous  gifts.  "And  Qod  has  placed  some  in 
the  church,  first  apostles,  secondly  prophets,  thirdly 
teachers,  feretro,  next  after,  miracles,  dra  after  them, 
gifts  of  healing,  helps,  governments."  They  are  used 
in  the  same  manner  in  this  discussion  respecting  the 
resurrection.  "  He  was  seen  of  Peter  j  dra,  next  after 
by  the  twelve;  fireiro,  afterwards  by  more  than  five 
hundred  brethren  at  once  ;  i-eira,  after  that  by  James  ; 
eha,  next  after  that  by  all  the  apostles  ;  eaxarov  de  n-ovrwv, 
last  of  all  by  me."  To  deny,  then,  that  these  terms 
ased  to  denote  successive  times,  and  that  dra 
(v.  24)  denotes  a  later  time  than  t-eira  (v.  23),  and 
treat  it  as  though  it  were  Tin,  then,  and  stood  for  the 
same  time  as  ferna,  is  to  deny  its  clear  and  indubitable 
meaning,  and  assign  it  one  that  is  foreign  to  its  usage. 
It  is  to  disregard,  also,  the  structure  of  the  sentence 
of  which  dTUToriXoc  is  a  continuation.  Elra  is  not  the 
beginning  of  a  new  sentence  and  a  new  subject.  Had 
a  new  sentence  begun  after  nnPovaiaJ  Christ's  coming, 


102 

onld  li.t\ 

1  anoth- 

with  Christ'f  ming.     1 

•  iiiuatiM  .  ,1  in 

f  which 
1  finally, 
»nfirmed  by  the  specification  which  foil 
of  the  time  to  whi<  hen 

Christ  Bhall  deliver  up  to  the  Father  the  ' 
which  b< 

cation   also,  of  that    I  wheo    he   shall    i. 

j.ut  down  all  his  enemies,  of  which  the  last  that  ic 
be  pat  d  loath,  which  is  to  be  after  the  period 

denoted  by  the  millenninm  b 

whil  '   which  his  own  j 

D  .n.  vii.   13,  1  1  :    Rev,   \i.   15  : 

time  of  the  i 
cilicallv  defined  as  the 

the  rc>t  of  t :  w  h-  ►  art-  not  t"  live  till  .. 

thonsand  y<  .  \.\. 

1    5,   1  1     :    !•: 

the  second  hand  is  defined,  as  the  time        ( 
It  is  cleai  then  beyond  the  possibilil 

that    tho-<'    who  arc    to   1 

into  bands  according  to  their  character  ami  the  nature 
of  the  resurrection  they 
the  resurrection 


CHRIST  IS  TO  <  <>  ii:  mii.i. i:\.\ir-.M.      193 

sively  at  times  that  are  to  be  separated  from  i 
other  by  wide  intervals.    The  resurrection  of* 
holy  dead  is  to  be  at  a  distance  of  al  Least  Dear  nine- 
after  Christ's  resurrection.    The 
surrection  of  the  unholy  is  not  to  take  place  till  after 
the  period  denoted  by  the  thousand  years  of  Chri 

:i  on  the  earth  with  his  saints,  and  is  to  follow 
Christ's  coming,  th.  at  the  distance  of  three 

hundred  and  sixty  thous  rs. 

5.  Hi-  coming  is  to  take  place  at  the  close  of  the 
tribulation  of  the  I  that  followed  their  con- 

quee  d  by  the  Etonians.    Thus  Christ 

rhey  shall  fall  by  the  edge  of  the 
sword,  and  shall  be  led  away  captive  into  all  nations; 
and  Jerusalem  shall  be  trodden  by  the  Gentiles,  till 
the  times  of  the  Gentiles  be  fulfilled;  and  there  shall 
be  signs  in  the  sun,  and  in  the  moon,  and  in  the 

'8  :  and  upon  the  earth  distress  of  nations  with 
perplexity  ;  the  sea  and  the  waves  roaring  ;  men's 
hearts  failing  them  for  fear,  and  for  looking  after 
those  things  which  are  coming  on  the  earth;  for  the 
powers  of  1.  shall  be  shaken.     And  then  shall 

they  see  the  Son  of  man  coming  in  a  cloud  with 
power  and  great  dory.  And  when  these  things  be- 
gin  to  come  to  pass,  then  look  up  and  lift  up  your 
head-  ;    for  demption  draweth  nigh;'  Luke 

xxi.  'i  of  that  people  there- 

fore C  iming  in 

the  clouds.    This  is  foretold  also'byPel  -  iii. 

20,  21,  wher<  a  when  the  tin* 

9 


l'.il      CB 

h,  he 
shall 

— whuMi  the  heavens  must  retain  until  th  of  the 

all  things  which  God  hath  spoken  by  the 

month  of  his  holy  prophets.     Bui  the  times  of  the 

•  full  things  which  God  has  pron 

•  imefl  of  the  restoration  of  the  I  to  their 

ancient  land  and  t«>  their  relation  t    I 
sen  people.     Chrisl  is  to  return  from  I 
the!'  •  that  epoch, 

the  earth. 

This  is  foretold  also  with  equal  explicit 
xiv.  1    LB,  where  it  is  declared  that  when  in  the 
of  Jehovah  he  shall  gather  all  nations  agaii 
Balem  to  battle  ;  the  Lord  .-hall  go  forth  and  ii;_rht 

insi  those  nations,  and  hie 
dav  uj mi i  themounl  vi'  < Hives,  and  the  Lord 
Bhall  come  and  all  thi  withthi  that  then 

I  shall  be  king  over  all  the  earth  ;  and  tfa 
after  there  Bhall  be  no  more  utter  destrucl 

:u  Bhall  ly  inhabited  ;  and  " 

are  left  of   the    nations   that    I  .leiu 

shall    gO  Up  from    Year    U)    year    I  i\ili.Lr, 

Jehovah  of  hosts,  and  to  keep  t 
nacles."    There  is  a  like  prediction  ale  .  1-  iafa 
2.     Bui  the  restoration  of  the  Israelis 

•  the  time  of  tli-  sion  of  ' 

18  to  be  at  the  time  when  the  fa] 

1  i  in,  that  the  Redeem* 

and  turn  aw 


CIIIMST  IS  TO  COME  BEFORE  THE  MILLENNIUM.       L95 

it  is  then  that  God  Is  to  have  mercy  on  all,  both  Gen- 
tiles and  .lews,  who  are  previously  to  be  Bhul  up  in 
unbelief.  The  restoration  of  tin-  Israelites  is  to  take 
place  also  at  the  time  of  the  creation  of  the  new  hea- 
vens and  the  new  earth  :  for  then  God  is  to  "  create 
Jerusalem  a  rejoicing  and  her  people  a  joy;  and  he 
is  to  rejoice  in  Jerusalem,  and  joy  in  her  people,  and 
the  voice  of  weeping  is  no  more  to  be  heard  in  her, 
nor  the  voire  of  crying  ;"  hut  they  arc  to  be  freed 
from  the  curse,  and  crowned  with  unmixed  blessed- 
3  and  peace,  Isaiah  l.w.  17—25,  and  the  creation 
of  the  new  heavens  and  now  earth  i>  to  take  place  at 
the  time  that  "  the  tabernacle  of  God"  descends  from 
heaven  and  ''is  with  men  and  lie  dwells  with  them, 
and  they  hecome  Ins  people,  and  God  himself  shall 
be  with  them,  their  God."  For  that  is  the  time  when 
he  is  to  ■•  make  all  things  new,"  Rev.  xxi.  1-5.  It  is 
therefore  at  the  commencement  of  the  millennium. 
For  that  is  the  time  of  the  resurrection  of  the  saints, 
whom  the  new  Jerusalem,  the  tabernacle  of  God,  sym- 
bolizes, who  are  to  reign  with  him  during-  the  mil- 
lennium. Rev.  x\.  !-<>.  and  the  time  of  their  marri 
as  the  bri  le  to  the  hind).  Rev.  xxi.  '.)  ;  xix.  7-9,  and 
that  is  to  take  place  Boon  after  the  destruction  of 

►abylon  under  the  seventh  trumpet  and  - 
enth  vial.  Rev.  xix.  1-6. 

Such  are  the  cl  ific  and  uniform  teach i:     3 

of  the  Scriptures.  The  revelation  they  make  is,  be- 
yond all  room  for  debate,  that  the  second  coming  of 
Christ   is  to  take  place  before  the  conversion  of  the 


LOG      I  HBIS1   1-  1 

nations  and  his  reign  ofa  thou  ith  the  i 

•  Dumer  w  ith- 

uut  meaning  that  that  i-  their  Kmpoi 

also  to  impeach  the  wisdom  and  truth  <  Why 

did  1m-  emp]  •  numer    - 

>nfl  and  definitionfl  oftb  ( 

id  coming,  if  the  time  oi  hu  oomin  that 

which  they  denote  ?     Why  i 

1?    Why  are  all  the  predictions  of  h  at  in 

harmony  with  these?  Among  all 

is  m  rly  and  frequentl;  more  in- 

dnhitably  certain  than  that  Chri  aing 

take-  place  under  the  seventh  tram] 
I  bis  thou 

of  the  world. 


Christ's  reign  on  the  eabth.  19' 


CHA  PTER   XVI. 

CHRIST    18    To     ELXIGN    IN"    PERSON     ON     THE     EARTH    DURING    THE 

MIU.KXNir.M. 

]>ut  Christ  is  not  only  to  come  at  tlio  commence- 
merit  of  the  miHenninm  ;  he  is  to  reign  here  in  per- 
son during  that  period  and  for  ever  thereafter. 

First,  This  is  seen  from  the  fact  that  the  earth  is 
then  to  become  his  kingdom,  Daniel  vii.  13,  14,  Rev. 
xi.  15.  It  is  then  to  become  his  kingdom, not  simply 
in  contradistinction  from  its  being  the  kingdom  of 
the  beast  and  of  Satan,  but  in  distinction  from  all 
other  parts  of  the  universe.  It  is  to  be  distinc- 
tively and  peculiarly  his  kingdom  as  Christ,  the 
King  of  kings,  and  Lord  of  lords ;  and  it  is  the  scene 
therefore  in  which  he  is  to  reign  in  person.  Be  ie 
surely  to  reign  whore  his  kingdom  is:  not  where  it 
is  not.  To  maintain  thai  he  is  not  to  reign  in  person 
here  after  his  investiture  with  the  dominion  of  the 
earth,  is  equivalent  to  maintaining  that  it  is  not  in 
fact  his  kingdom  in  the  highest  Bense,  his  peculiar 
dominion    as    tl.  ih — but    is    only  subject  to 

his  legal  and   providential  sway,  like  other  worlds 


that  . 

,  mpire.and  u  the  n 

:  ■:,.     The] 

of  the  m 
nth  iron 

m  of  this  world  (the  earth 

.     To  maintain  that  I 

1: 

.    For  whei  5°  il1 

dom 

Chat  he  IB 

from  th< 

f  him  by  Isaiah: 

urn  ll  l,e 

boulder  ;  and  hie  klledi 

Wonderful,  C 

: 
apon  the  th  apon  hia  kingdom,  to 

■  tbliah  it  withjadgm 

.it  the  annm 


DUBHTG  THE  MILLENNIUM.  1 '.»'.» 

Be  shall  be  great,  and  shall  be  called  the  Sou  of  the 
Highest  :  and  the  Lord  God  shall  give  unto  him  the 
throne  of  his  father  David,  and  he  shall  reign  over  /;" 
Jacob  forever  :  and  of  his  kingdom  there 
ahall  ho  no  end,"  Luke  i.  :;i  :;:;.  Hut  the  house  of 
•  a  kingdom  is  the  family  of  the  descendants 
of  Jacob  in  this  world  :  nol  in  gome  other  part  of  the 
Universe.      The  denial  that  it  is  in  this  world  thai 

i-  to  reign  over  them,  implies  that  they  form  a  king- 
don  by  themselves  in  some  other  orb.  Where  have 
Anti-inilleiiarians  any  authority  tor  such  a  virtual  re- 
futation? And  what  do  they  gain  by  den; 
that  Christ's  throne  is  to  be  in  this  world,  where 
kingdom  is  to  be  ;  if  in  order  to  it,  they  are  to  imply 
that  he  reigns  in  person  over  the  descendants  of  da- 
cob  as  a  kingdom  in  some  other  part  of  his  domin- 
ions? The  throne  and  kingdom  of  David  also  are  in 
this  world.     His  subjects  were  the  J-  3 ;  and  it 

was  over  them   that   it   was  promised  that   his   - 
should  reign  for  ever.     "  I  took  thee  from  the  sheep- 
.  from  following  the  sheep,  to  be   ruler  over  my 
■I  .  .  .  and  I  will  appoint  a  place  for 
my  people  Israel,  and  will  plant  them  that  they  1 

U  in  a  place  of  their  own,  and  move  no  more  : 
neither  shall  the  children  of  wickedness  afflict  them 
any  more.  .  .  .  And  thine  house  and  thy  kingdom 
shall  be  established  for  ever  before  thee;  thy  throne 
shall  be  established  for  ever."'  And  to  this  David 
answers  :  wThon  hast  confirmed  to  thyself  thy  peo- 
ple Israel, a  people  unto  thee  for  ever,  and  thou  Lord 


;:tm 

0   I. 
i  that  t!  .  ant, 

and  i  bis  hou  lish  it   i 

i  tliMti  h  I  let  thy  naj 

:  ]       Lord  of  I 

David 
liahed  before  tl 

thnfl    i 
1.  and  i:  r  them  that  his  tin- 

I      leny 
then  b  Christ  »  to  i  a  in  this 

world,  ifl  eitl  bat  he  i  them 

at  all.  or  imply  that  they  are  to  form  a  1 

dom  by  themselves  in  boi 

them  th<  of  which  ia  in  di 

.  to  the  teaching! 
bur  i  As  I  -    .  firmed  hi  ■  I  -- 

unto  him,  : 
they  are  th< 

distind  p<  ople,  to  deny  thai  th  i  I  rid's 

.  and  thai  Christ  ia  to  reign 
offer  a  point  blank  denial  t 
■ 
They  mu  if  the  Israelites  wh 

tinne  a  people  in  this  world 
tinne  i  of  D  rid, 

.  if  D  \  i  l'a 
his  tin- 
.    Ther 


DUBING  TOE  MIU.KWirM.  201 

tnitli  they  bo  clearly  proclaim,  that  Christ  is  for  ei  er 
to  reign  here  in  person  on  the  throne  of  David  over 
the  people  of  Israel. 

Thirdly.  His  throne  is  to  be  on  Mount  Zion.  The 
Lord  proclaims  in  answer  to  the  rage  of  the  nations 
who  take  counsel  against  his  anointed — "Yet  have  I 
set  my  King  apon  my  holy  hill  of  Zion.  I  will  declare 
the  decree:  Thon  art  my  Son:  this  day  have  I  be- 

ten  thee.     Ask  of  me,  and  I  Bhall  give  the  heathen 
for  thine  inheritance,  and  the  uttermost  parts  of  the 

th  for  a  ]  in.     Thou  shalt  break  them  with 

a  rod  of  iron  ;  thou  shalt  dash  them  like  apoti 

I.  Be  wise  now  therefore  0  ye  Kings;  be  in- 
structed ye  judges  of  the  earth.  Serve  the  Lord  with 
fear,  and  rejoice  with  trembling.  Kiss  the  Son  lest 
1:  •  be  angry,  and  ye  perish  from  the  way,  when  his 
wrath  is  kindled  but  a  little.  Blessed  are  all  they 
that  put  their  trust  in  him.7'  Ps.  ii.  6-11.  Can  any 
tiling  be  clearer,  than  that  the  hill  of  Zion  on  which 
the  King  is  to  be  enthroned,  is  the  literal  Zion  of  Je- 
rusalem, and  that  the  reign  here  depicted  is  to  be  in 
this  world  and  over  human  beings?     It  is  predi* 

by  Micah  that  on  the  restoration  of  the  Israelites 
the  Lord  Bhall  reign  over  them  in  Mount  Zion  to  eter- 
nity. "  In  that  day" — when  all  nations  are  to  be  con- 
verted, and  to  beat  their  swords  into  ploughshares 
and  their  spears  into  pruning  hooks  and  learn  war  no 
more — "  saith  the  Lord,  will  I  assemble  her  that  halt- 
eth,  and  I  will  gather  her  that  is  driven  out,  and  her 

that  I  have  afilieted  ;  and  I  will  make  her  that  halted 

9* 


202 

ml  her  thai  n* 

tioo  :  and  the  Lord  shall  I  rant 

Zion  from  thii  time  to  i ■■■  chap.  iv.  6,  7. 

Lord  □   then  over  the  Israelii 

from  the  time  of  their  restoration  to  eternity. 

I  •  be  Lord  n  bo  is  to  reign  ov<  r  th< 

to  reign  there  in  person  in  bis  complex  natun 

man  :  other*  ise  he  will  not  n  m  in 

Zion.     [f  he  wei 

but   only   by  laws,  infra  and  provide 

would  no  more  reign  over  them  on  Mount  Zion,  than 
he  would  in  any  other  place  where  he  made  known 
In-  laws  to  men,  breathed  the  influences  of  his  Spirit 
on  them,  and  exerted  over  them  a  providenc  , 
prediction  that  he  ifl  to  reign  in  Zion,  in  contr 
tinction  from  other  places,  is  a  nullity,  ui 
a  there  in  person. 

I   lurthly.  Be 

n  :   and  they  are  to  i ■■  the  earth.      "  Bl< 

and  holy  is  he  that  ha-  part  in  the  first  ti 

on  Buch  the  second  death  has  no  power;  but  they 
shall  be  prie  Gk>d  and  of  Christ,  and  Bhall  n 

with  him  the  thousand  years/1  B  But  they 

are  to  reign  on  the  earth  ;  The  Living  creatures  and 
elders  sang,  '•Thou  art  worthy  to  lake  the  book  and 
to  open  the  Beals  bl  :  for  thou  wast  slain,  and 

bast  redeemed  us  unto  ( ; o<l  1  »y  thy  blood  out 

kindred,  and  tongue,  and  people,  and  nation  :  and 
hast  made  US  unto  OUT  Gfod  kinj>  and  pri  I  we 

shall  ,"  Ete\ .  v.  9,  10.     And  it  is 


DURING  THE  MILLENNIUM. 

shown.  Daniel  vii.  L3,  14,  Is.  22,  27,  thai  when  on  the 
destruction  of  the  powers  denoted  by  the  fourth  beast, 

Christ  is  to  receive  the  dominion  of  the  earth,  thai  all 
people,  nations,  and  tongues  may  Berve  him,  ''the 

saints  of  the  Most    High  also   shall  take  the  kingdom 

and  possess  the  kingdom  to  eternity,  and  to  eternity 
of  eternities/'  and  that  "  the  kingdom  and  dominion, 
and  the  greatness  of  the  kingdom/-  which  "  shall  be 
given"  to  them,  is  "the  kingdom  under  the  whole 
heaven;"  that  is  the  whole  circuit  of  the  earth  which 
lies  beneath  the  atmosphere.  As  then  the  saints  are 
indisputably  to  reign  on  the  earth,  and  nowhere  el 
as  far  as  we  are  taught,  and  SB  be  is  to  reign  with 
them  ; — he  is  as  indisputably  to  reign  on  the  earth  ; 
and  in  person  ;  as  otherwise  he  will  no  more  r< 
with  them,  than  the  Father  will,  or  the  Holy  Spirit. 
But  that  is  in  contradiction  to  the  revelation.  IV 
vii.  13,  14  ;  Ps.  ii.  6  ;  Rev.  xi.  15  :  xix.  16,  and  others, 
which  exhibit  Christ  as  constituted  the  King  of  the 
earth  by  the  Father,  and  as  reigning  over  it  as  his 
peculiar  kingdom. 

Fifthly.  And  finally  he  is  exhibited  in  the  Apoca- 
lypse as  reigning  over  the  earth  in  person  after  his 
:.d  coming,  raising  the  holy  dead,  and  establish- 
ing his  kingdom  on  the  earth.  Tims  we  are  told  that 
on  the  descent  of  the  New  Jerusalem,  the  symbol  of 
the  risen  saints.  "  the  throne  of  God  and  of  the  Land) 
shall  be  in  it.  and  his  Bervanta  shall  serve  him,  And 
tltcij  shall  see  his  /"" .  ami  his  name  shall  be  in  their 
foreheads  :  And  there  shall  be  no  night  there  ;  and 


RTH 

the 
mall 

be  ami 

face  is  1 

all,l  i  en  the  earth, 

.me  in  the  cloud 
the  thou  rs,and  it  I 

li.istln; 
with  a  directness,  a  tnl  tainty  with 

which  few  other  measures  of  his  admini 

1  cannot  1-  I,  without  a  pal] 

Important  predi<  virtual  butt 

wordof  I  a  arbitrary  construction  thai 

its  indisputable  teachings,  and  substitul 
theory  In  its  pla 

that  if  applied  to  human  writings  thai 
the  rights  and  well  I  '  •  would 

I  mable. 
But  why.  it  will  perha]  'lllls 

mii  the  earth,  did  h<  kablish  hie  tl 

here  immediately  af  ':-  at     fl 

he  deparl  from  the  earth  to  b 
through  bo  man;.  administration  over  mankind 

Like  the 

l.  He  ascended  to  hei  down  at  tl 

hand  of  the  majesty  on  high,  and  assumed  tb 
.  thai  all  ord( 

b  the 


DUMNG  THE  MILLENNIUM. 

rnal  Word  in  anion  with  man.  and  of  the  nature  of 
his  work  as  Redeemer  ;  and  might  acknowledge,  wor- 
ship, and  glorify  him  in  that  union  and  Btation,  and 
that  tin-  wisdom,  righteousness,  and  grace  displayed 
in  tin'  Balvation  of  the  guilty  might  thereby  be  made 
the  means  of  blessing  to  all  his  holy  children  through- 
out his  illimitable  realms.  This  end,  as  we  have  seen, 
i-  of  infinite  significance;  and  it  has  been  accom- 
plished,  doubtless,  far  more  effectually,  than  it  would 
had  he  reigned  since  his  resurrection  on  the  earth. 

he  has  not  only  horn  beheld  by  the  angelic  orders 
in  his  exaltation  to  the  throne  of  the  universe,  the 

of  his  administration  wit  I  and  a  knowle 

of  his  sway  doubtless  communicated  by  them  to  ;ill 
other  ranks  of  intelligent  beings  ;  but  not  improbably 
lie  has  revealed  himself  in  his  incarnate  nature  to  all 
the  holy  inhabitants  of  his  empire,  whatever  their  na- 
ture may  be.  and  received  their  direct  homage 
God-man.  their  creator,  upholder,  and  ruler,  and  the 
Saviour  of  mankind.  Many  of  them  may  have  beheld 
him.  knelt  in  adoration  in  his  presence,  and  rccei 
the  smile  of  his  love,  many  times.  As  he  reigns  in 
visible  glory  in  the  presence  of  the  angels  and  the 
spirits  of  just  men  made  perfect,  why  should  it  not  be 

med  likely  that  he  reveals  himself  also  in  his  hu- 
man nature,  to  the  inhabitants  of  other  worlds,  re- 
ceives their  homage,  and  them  with  the  tokens 
of  his  favor?  The  instruction  of  his  boundless  king- 
dom by  these  and  other  means  in  the  wonders  of  his 
incarnation  and  death,  and  the  aims  of  his  everlasting 


I  1!!: 

nd  momentous  work,  ind 
period  through  which  be  continui  - 
in  heaven. 
2.   Sil  withdrawal  from  the  eartb 
• 
men  like  the  present,  in  which  they  should  1 

and  lefl  •  >ut  theii 

ward  him  with  little  restraint.     Had  he  ; 
in  the  dazzling  Bplendors  in  which  i  1  in 

heaven,  how  could  men  have  doubted  his 
deity?     How  conld  they  have  question  right 

ami  power  to  reign  over  them?     How  eould  they 
have  rejected  his  salvation,  and  attempted  to  buI 
tute  another  in  its  place?    How  could  they  hav< 
dertaken  to  usurp  his  throne,  constitute  th< 
Baviours,  and  lead  men  to  look  to  them  for 
tion?     How  could  they  have  paid  their  homag< 
i«l« 'U.  and  demons,  and  reptiles?    1 1  ^v  conld  they 
have  forgotten  him,  I  him,  and  turned  to  the 

I  pleasures  of  this  world  for  happin 
Bow  could  they  have  made  war  on  one  another  ii 

d  wreaked  their  ferocion  • 
turing  and  slaughtering  one  another  ?    The  restraints 
under  which  they  would  have  been  placed,  the  0 
of  truth  that  would  have  been  poured  on  them,  would 
have  rendered  it  impossible.     It  was  an 
dition  to  their  being  lefl  to  ad  out  their  la-arts  in  all 
the  forma  of  evil  they  now  do,  that  they  should 

apted  from  the  overpowering  realu  with 

which  hu  old  impress  them; — 


DUBING   l  HE  MILLENNIUM.  207 

thai  they  Bhould  be  placed  in  a  Bphere  like  the  pre- 
sent, in  which  he  is  to  be  Been  only  by  the  eye  of 
faith  and  through  bia  works  and  word.  As  then  the 
exhibition  which  La  now  taking  place  of  the  heart  of 

man,  is,  as  we  have  shown,  an  essential  preliminary 
to  the  redemptive  dispensation  that  is  hereafter  to 
be  instituted,  and  continued  forever ;  so  Christ's  reign 
in  heaven  during  the  present  economy  was  doubtless 

necessary  in  order  to  that  trial  and  exhibition  of  the 
human  heart  ;  and  therefore  to  the  gracious  dispen- 
sation that  is  to  follow  through  everlasting  years. 

3.  It  was  necessary  that  Christ  should  reigU  in  hea- 
ven during  the  present  economy,  that  Satan  might 
continue  his  kingdom  here,  and  exert  the  vast  agency 
he  has  in  tempting  mankind,  and  Leading  them  to  the 
various  forms  of  sin  to  which  lie  lias  prompted  them. 
It  is  inconsistent  with  the  dignity  and  majesty  of 
Christ  that  Satan  should  carry  on  his  war  against  him 
in  his  immediate  presence  ;  deny  his  being,  impeach 
his  character,  resist  his  rights,  misrepresent  his  work, 
and  assail  and  pervert  the  doctrines  of  his  word  to 
his  face,  as  it  were,  and  tempt  and  betray  and  destroy 
hi>  subjects  amidst  the  unveiled  glories  of  his  deity 
and  throne.  Jt  is  incompatible  with  his  sanctitude, 
and  would  involve  his  holy  subjects  in  perplexity  and 
horror,  and  overthrow  his  authority.  Even  men  when 
they  have  directly  affronted  him  in  the  seene  where 
he  revealed  himself,  have  been  instantly  stricken  with 
his  avenging  power,  as  Xadab  and  Abihu  and  Korali 
and  his  company. 


(Ill: 
I..  will 

1.  and  he  w  ill  come  and 
the  earth  ai  hi  -  special  kingdom 
of  kii  i  Lords  :  and  it  will  then 

-niti.il  thai  he  Bhould  reign  here  in  person  and  visible 
ii  now  is  thai  he  should  reign  in  person  in 
en  ;  his  visible  |  will  donl 

inch  to  the  instruction  and  imj  mankind, 

as  the  visibl  tion  of  himself  i  i  the 

instruction  and  impression  of  the  inhabitants  of  other 
worlds  :  and  the  supposition  thai  h< 

lly  and  \  isibly,  i 
nature  his  glory,  and  th  tion, 

as  the  supposition  is  that  his  reign  in  li  -  not 

visible  :  bul  thai  he  Bhrouds  himself  from  th< 
his  holy  creatures, and  allows  them  to  know  him  only 
through  his  works  and  his  word. 

We  Bee  in  his  purp  pi  in  p<  r 

on  the  earth  and  enter  on  the  redemptive  disp< 
tion  he  has  foreshown,  the  reason  thai  the 
and  early  believers  Looked  with  so  much  desii 
the  hour  of  his  second  coming.     Ji  is  1  only 

the  epoch  of  their  complete  redemption  ;  bu1  of  the 
mption  of  the  world.     It  is  to  1"'  an  era  of  inti 
aificance  to  the  whole  uni 

id  man  arc  then  to  : 

ted  in  their  career  of  war  on  him  and  his  kingdom 
and  consigned  to  judgment.  Death,  Buffering,  Borrow 
and  sin,  are  to  be  brought  to  a  pause  i  irth 

and   mankind   rescued   from   their   thraldom  :    Christ 


DURING  'i  in:  Mii.!.::\\ir.u. 

is  to  display  the  grandeur  of  bis  omnipotence,  his 
wisdom,  and  his  love  in  the  redemption  of  men  from 
the  debasement  and  curse  of  sin,  and  transformation 
into  righteousness  and  love.  The  earth  is  to  become 
a  vasi  paradise  of  holy  and  rejoicing  beings,  and  be 
Glled  with  the  glory  and  praise  of  God.  Who  can 
look  with  indifference  on  such  a  spectacle  ?  Who 
can  withhold  himself  from  the  wish  of  the  apostle  to 
whom  the  Bcene  was  revealed  in  vision,  '"Come  Lord 
as,  come  quickly  ?" 


'Jin  cm 


CII  A  PT  E  B    X  VII. 

nsi  i-  at  his  conn 

Tin:  Scriptures  indicate  th  and  momenl 

changes  are  t.»  take  place  in  I  ttion 

over  the  world,  ;it  the  commencement  of  Christ's  mil- 
lennia! reign,  when  all  \ ■• 
are  to  become  obedient  to  his  sceptre.     T 
where  represent,  in  s  Bpecifi 
thai  the  days  thai  are  immediately  that 

»n,  during  which  Satan,  the  prince  of  the  power 
of  tl  lominatii 

the    .  - : J »  and   :  < 

anity  prevail ;  the  evil  continue  mixed  with  tl 
like  tares  with  wheal  :  and  the  malign  pi 

ions  of  the  *  at  their 

r  and  fruits,  and  s]  men  are  in  reality  in 

that    alienation    from    ' 

ich  Christ's  int. 
round  of  mptive 

former 


TO  INTRODUCE  A  XKW  DttPENSATl  211 

and  all  things  arc  to  be  made  new  ;  and  specify 
among  the  former  things  thai  are  thus  to  pass — the 
reign  of  the  apostate  and  persecuting  powers  of 

Christendom,  the  systems  of  idolatry  and  other  I 
worships,  the  tempi  ing  agency  and  presence  of  Satan, 
ignorance,  and  delusion  j  and  they  indicate  also  a 
number  of  the  new*things  that  are  then  to  take  place 
— Buch  as  the  personal  coming  and  reign  of  Christ  in 
glory,  the  resurrection  of  the  holy  dead  and  reign 
with  him,  the  restoration  of  Israel,  the  communication 
to  all  nations  and  individuals  of  the  knowledge  of 
Christ,  their  universal  conversion,  and  the  discon- 
tinuance (»f  wars,  violenc  ivils  of  every  form — 
which  show  that  the  administration  that  is  then  to  be 
instituted,  will  differ  very  widely  from  the  present, 
and  may  be  justly  denominated  a  new  dispensation. 

What,  however,  is  meant  by  its  being  a  new  dis- 
pensation ?  Not,  as  disbelievers  in  Christ's  reign 
sometimes  represent,  that  a  new  method  of  redemp- 
tion is  then  to  be  instituted,  or  a  new  method  of  de- 
livering men  from  sin.  No  statement  could  be  more 
taken.  The  object  of  the  new  administration  is 
not  to  supersede  the  work  of  Christ  by  some  other 
method  of  atonement  or  justification,  but  to  apply 
bis  redemption  on  a  vastly  greater  scale  ;  to  extend 
its   <  -  to  the  whole  population  of  the  globe, 

efficacy  to  the  means  of  exempting 
men  from  temptation  ;  enlightening,  convincing,  and 
renewing  them  :  transforming  them  to  wisdom  and 
righteousness  ;  and  elevating  them  in  every  excel- 


212 

v.  h;it  the 
church  1  with  the 

I  individual! 

. 
them  b) 

Ifil     will     thru    1 

.  iii  ■ 

far  high< 

dtherto  been  ;  the  Spirit  will  still  be  I 

and  far  i 

ioii.-ly  ;  I  with  l'ar   n. 

displays  of  hi 

el  will  still 
a  truths  the  great  instrument,  in  the  in- 
fluences  of  the  Spir  >nvincing,  eiiliglitei 

and  purifying  the   1  ad  kindling  it  with 

holy  which  ai 

it  will  I 

tioo  whi 
then  to  enjoy  from  I 
and  of  cruel  and  wicked  met 

the  presence  of  Christ  :   in- 

.  and  the  immeasnral 
i  of  t 
and  sanctifying  Spirit,  by  which  those  m 
illumination  and  t: 
it  will  1 
rally  tion   than    cither    tl 

Chrie  which  i 


TO  [N1»0DUCE  a  m:w  DISPENSATION.  218 

portent  ;  its  influences  will  be  far  more  extensive. 
The  Mosaic  dispensation  was  confined  in  its  design 
and  effect  almost  exclusively  to  the  Bebrews.  The 
Christian  has,  in  fact,  been  confined  almost  absolute- 
ly to  the  nations  living  within  the  limits  of  the 
ancient  Roman  empire,  and  those  that  have  inter- 
mixed with  or  sprung  from  them.  On  the  vast 
population  of  Central  and  Southern  Africa,  of  East- 
ern and  Northern  Asia,  of  the  islands  of  the  Indian 
and  Pacific  oceans,  and  the  numerous  aboriginal  tribes 
of  this  continent,  BCarce  a  r;iy  of  its  light  lias  ever 
fallen.  The  new  dispensation  is  to  pour  its  effulgence 
on  every  part  of  the  globe  ;  is  to  exert  its  life-giving 
power  in  every  human  breast. 

That  the  most  important  changes  are  to  be  intro- 
duced in  the  administration  of  the  world,  at  the  time 
when  it  is  thus  to  become  the  scene  of  Christ's  king- 
dom, in  contradistinction  from  the  kingdom  of  Satan 
and  of  apostate  and  hostile  men,  is  taught  in  a  great 
number  of  passages.  Thus  it  is  shown  in  the  follow- 
ing vision  o['  Daniel,  that  at  the  time  that  the  nations 
of  the  earth  are  to  become  the  subjects  of  Chi  ' 

.  he  is  to  come  in  the  clouds  oi'  heaven,  and  be 

invested  with  the 'dominion  of  the  world ;  the  p"\. 

denoted  by  the  bea>t  of  ten  horns  are  to  be  arraigned 
and  ed  :    and   the   saints  of  the   Most  High, 

whom  the  little  horn  had  prevailed  against  and  worn 
out  by  persecution   and  martyrdom,  are  to  take  the 
kingdom,  and  reign  with  him  for  ever  and  ever. 
"And  I  continued  looking  until  the  thrones  were 


21 1 

placed, 

hair  of  i  like  the 

pun-  wunl  ;  :  be  fiery  flam< 

burning  fit  e.     a  ii< 

him,  thousand  thou  1  to 

iiim.  ami  ten  thousand  tiraefl  ten  thou 
:    the  judgmenl 

i         tinned  Looking  then  be<  I   the 

-  u  huh  the  horn  spa] 
ing  until  the  i  his  body  d< 

and  it  was  committed  to  the  burning  fiai 

"  J  continued  to  look  in  the  visions  of  the  night,  and 
behold  one  like  the  Son  of  Man  came  with  th 
of  heaven,  and  he  advan  he  Anci 

and  they  brought  him  near  before  him.     And  th 

•  n  him  dominion  ai  and  a  kingdom, 

that  all  people,  and  nationa,  and  t 

him  :  \n-  dominion  i-  an  everlasting  dominion,  which 

.i  one  that  Bhall 

"•  And    I 

and  asked  him  the  truth  (the  true  import)  of  all  1 
bo  he  told  nir.  and  made  me  know  the  interprets! 
of  the  things.     ';  which  i 

:  >ur  kings  (dynafl  hich  arise  in  the  earth. 

Jim  the  saint-  of  the  Most  High  shall  take  the  b 
the  kingdom  l- 

"Then    •.  raid  I  know  the  truth  (the  meaning 
the  fourth  beast,  which  was  di  from  all   the 


TO  [NTBODUOB  A  XKW  DISPENSATION.  215 

others,  exceedingly  dreadful^  and  of  the  ten  horns 
that  were  in  his  head,  and  of  the  other  which  came 
up  and  before  which  three  feH;  even  of  thai  horn 

that  had  eyes,  and  a  month  that  spake  very  v/iv.it 
things,  whose  look  was  more  stout  than  his  fellows. 
1  continued  Looking,  and  the  same  horn  made  war 
with  the  saints  and  prevailed  against  them,  until  the 
Ancient  of  days  came,  and  jndgment  was  given  to  the 
s.iints  of  the  Most  High,  ami  tin-  time  came  that  the 
—•••I  the  kingdom.  Thus  he  said  :  The 
fourth  beast  snail  he  the  fourth  kingdom  upon  the 
earth,  which  shall  he  diverse  from  all  kingdoms,  and 
shall  devour  the  whole  earth,  and  shall  tread  it  down, 
and  break  it  in  pieces.  And  as  to  the  ten  horns  out 
of  this  kingdom,  ten  kings  >hall  arise,  and  another 
shall  rise  after  them  ;  and  he  shall  be  diverse  from 
those  that  preceded,  and  three  kings  shall  he  subdue, 
and  he  shall  speak  Avords  against  the  Most  High,  and 
«hall  wear  out  the  saints  of  the  Most  High,  and 
think  to  change  times  and  laws,  and  they  shall  be 
given  into  his  hand  for  a  time,  and  times,  and  the 
dividing  of  time.  But  the  judgment  shall  sit,  and 
they  shall  take  away  his  dominion  to  consume  and 
destroy  it  unto  the  end.  And  the  kingdom,  and  do- 
minion, and  the  greatness  of  the  kingdom  under  the 
whole  heaven,  shall  be  given  to  the  people  of  the 
saints  of  the  Most  High,  whose  kingdom  is  an  ever- 
lasting kingdom,  and  all  dominions  shall  serve  and 
obey  him." — Chap.  vii.  D--2T. 

Here  the  great  events  that  are  symbolized,  are  re- 


211  CM  :iN,; 

period  when  all 

I  ,i  rule  and  im,  is  tl 

of  t!,  o  of  the    • 

tnent  and  destruction  of  the  civil  bj 
tica]  powera  symbolized  by  the  wild 

the 

with  the  dominion  of  the  world,  that  all  il 

nations  ahonld  serve  him.    It  u  like 

same  epoch  aa  the  reception  of  I 

paints  of  the  Moat   High,  \  h  i  an    ;;.  d     t  rwi 

.    The  inatituti 
rule  on  which  Chri  bitiire 

with  the  dominion  of  the  earth,  b 

•  anterior  to  the  deatrnction  of  th 
by  the  wild  for  the  • 

horn,  which  made  war  with  tl. 
against  them  until  the  Ancient 
judgment,  thai  is,  judicial  authority, 
Bainti  of  the  II  ad  the  time  arri 

they  an  : ■>•     r; '    '     -:i  (,f 

Christ  and  the  reign  i  i*  the  beast  are  d 
:  bul  the 

.     l    like  m  uu 

role  ifl  nut  to  precede  his  coming  in  the 
clouda  of  heaven  and  investiture  with  the  domii 

., ,il.l.     Why  should  he  be  inv<  ai<  d  with  the 


TO  [NTBODUCB  a  NEW  DISPENSATION.  -1  t 

sceptre  of  the  earth  ages  after*  it  has  been  his  king 
dom  and  yielded  to  his  sway  ?  Bui  he  is  to  receive 
the  earth  as  his  kingdom  and  be  invested  with  au- 
thority over  it  as  the  Son  of  Man,  in  order  that  all 
pie,  nations,  and  tong  y  serve  him.    Their 

to  be  the  consequence  and  work  of  his 
sway  :  not  his  dominion  and  sway  the  consequence 
of  t  heir  conversion  and  obedience. 

Sere  is  then  a  clear  and  indubitable  revelation  that, 
at  the  time  that  all  nations  are  to  become  Bubject  to 
Christ,  he  La  to  institute  a  kingdom  on  the  earth  that 
is  to  be  unlike  any  that  previously  existed,  and  enter 
on  an  administration  that,  in  form  and  efficiency, will 
differ  very  e  isentially  from  any  that  preceded  it.  It 
will  be  ushered  in  by  the  destruction  of  the  powers 
denoted  by  the  wild  beast,  and  by  his  coming  in  the 
clouds  of  heaven,  receiving  the  earth  as  his  kingdom, 
and  causing  all  its  people  and  nations  to  submit  to  his 
>tre  :  and  it  will  be  marked  by  his  personal  reign 
over  them,  by  the  reign  with  him  of  the  saints  of  the 
I  Eigh  who  had  been  persecuted  and  slain  during 
the  power  i^i'  the  ;  by  the  ion  and  obe- 

dience to  him  oi'  all  nations  and   tor.  :,d   by  a 

continuance  for  ever  ;  and  these  and  other  greal  mea- 
realed  in  other  prophecies,  which  are  to  be 
adopted  at  the  same  period,  are  emphatically  to  con- 
stitute his  adminie  a  new  and  peculiar  one. 

It  is  to  be  new  and  peculiar,  because  Christ  is  to 
reign  over  the  nations  in  person.  As  the  earth  is 
then  to  be  hi.-   kingdom,  he  is  t<>  be  its  King,  in  place 

10 


<>f  the  usur] 

Byml  ••  four  n  il«l  I  be  \&  to  r< 

of  the  uiii\  erse  beyond  tfa  \ 

should  be  be  constituted  the  kin. 
exhibited  as  entering  w  and  eternal  reign 

it.  if  he  is  then  to  1"'  no  d  in,Lr  than  he 

before,  and  reign  over  it  in  i  ent  form?    If  he 

\E  DOl  then  in  tart  on  the  earth  any  more  than  he  now 
not  reign  over  it  in  person  and  vie 

any  more  than  he  now  do68,  how  will  he  any  inn: 

its  ting,  to  the  exclusion  of  all  others,  than  he 
[f  earthly  monarchs  are  then  to  n  r  the  nal 

and  as  absolutely  aa  they  do  now,  though  more  *  it 
why  will  th«- .  earth,  in  contra- 

distinction from  Christ,  enthroned  in  a  different  and 
nt  world,  as  much  monarch 

the  earth  ar 

will  be  i  in  w  and  peculiar  administration,  he- 
will  then  be  no  conspiring  and  M 
monarchs,  not  only  in  the  ten  kit  ruled  by  the 

st,  but,  as  v  e  Learn  from  other  prophecies,  in  no 
part  of  the  world, Isaiah  ii.  1  lv.  who  will  employ 
themselves  in  mating  war  on  their  fellow  ogh- 

tering  them,  crushing  them  with  oppression,  and 
ticing  or  forcing  them  I 
pay  their  homage  to  idols  and  false  deitii  3.    The  uni- 

i  .\  abolition  of  other  worships  :.~ 
in  the  subjection  of  all  nati  <     rist     T 

religions  thai   have  prevailed  in  the  world  for  four 


TO  INTRODUCE  A  Ni:w  DISPENSATION.  219 

thousand  years,  have  been  mainlj  instituted,  sustained, 
and  propagated  by  the  arbitrary  and  cruel  rulers  of 
the  nations.    Their  priests  have  been  the  instruments 
of  those  monarchs,  and  their  bloody  and  profli . 
rites  the  means  of  augmenting  their  power,  and  i 
bag  the  people  in  submission  to  their  will.    The  idol- 
atries of  Babylonia,  Persia,  Greece,  and  Borne,  w 
all  instituted  and  fostered  by  the  governments,  and 
1  to  them  their  authority  and  perpetuation  from 
_    .     What  a  stupendous  change  in  the  con- 
dition of  the  race  will  the  extinction  of  all  those  false 
religions  form  ;  and  their  extinction  by  the  pers 
presence  of  the  Son  of  Man  in  th  -  of  his  deity, 

as  the  Creator  and  the  Redeemer  of  men,  and  the 
only  proper  object  of  their  homage!  How  infinite 
the  influences  that  are  to  spring  from  it ! 

It  will  be  a  new  and  peculiar  administration,  be- 
cause i lie  saints  of  the  Most  High  are  to  take  the 
kingdom  along  with  Christ,  and  reign  with  him  for 
ever  and  ever.  The  saints  who  are  thus  to  receive 
judicial  authority  and  to  possess  the  kingdom,  are 
not  saints  in  the  natural  life,  hut  those  who  are  at 
Chi!  oing  to  be  raised  from  the  dear!  and  ex- 

alted to  thrones,  and  reign  with  him,  as  is  foreshown 
in  t!  of  the  first  resurrection.  Rev.  xx.  4-6. 

This  i-  Been  from  the  consideration,  that  they  are  the 
identical  saints  on  whom  the  eleventh  horn  of  the 
beast  made  war,  prevailed  over,  and  wore  out  byper- 
ition  and  slaughter  during  the  long  period  of  its 
reign  symbolized  by  a  time,  times,  and  the  dividing 


That. 

the} 

from  t!  ' ion  thai  all  the  nations,  that 

I]  in  the  natural  I  ■ 

inta   in  the   natural   .  LI   iii  thi 

v.niiM  be  no  subji 
w  bom  they  could  reign.    T  be  the  i 

and  glorified  foreshoi 

.w.  1  6,  who  are  then  to  be  invi 
thority,  and  given  to  reign  with  Christ.  that 

will  be  a  measure  that  has  no  parallel  in  the  ■ 
administration  of  the  w<  1  will  be  fraught  un- 

doubtedly with  immense  ami  propitious  infl 

It  will  1m-  a  Dew  and  peculiar  administration,  be- 
cause all  people,  s,  and  tongues  will  be  obedi- 
ent to  Christ,    'lie  oly  will  not  be  any  tj 
nicaJ  ami  bloody  monarchs,  any  ap< 
cuting  church,  nor  any  false  religions;  but  there  will 
m>t  be  any  Irreligious  and  demorali 
any  deceitful  ami  deluding  teachers,  nor  any  wi 
families   nor   individuals.     All  people,  nations,  and 
.tic  to  bi  rve  the  Son  of  Man,  and  all  domin- 
under  the  whole  heaven  be  obedient  to  his  - 
tre.    What  a  stupendous  change  I    Everyfah 

ht  from  existence]     Every  Belfish  ami  ferocious 
passion   hushed   in   eternal   Bilencel     Every  b 
I  by  rectitude,  w  i  - 

i  ho  intelligence,  purity,  virt 
1  others,  and  findin 
I  ml  his  kii  .:•;  -m  ! 


TO  INTRODUCE  A  NEW  DISPENSATION.  221 

These  are  the  plain  and  indubitable  teachir 
the  vision.  The  constractioB  we  have  put  on  it,  in- 
deed, is  in  a  -rcii  measure  given  by  the  Spirit  of  in- 
spiration himself]  it  is  in  accordance  with  the  laws 
of  the  Bymbols,  and  of  the  language  in  which  it  is  ex- 
plained and  unfolded  ;  and  its  teachings  interpreted 
in  this  manner  are  confirmed  by  many  other  passages 
in  the  Scriptures  which  predict  the  same  great  events, 
at  the  Bame  epoch.  Thus  it  is  foretold  by  Christ  that 
men  are  to  continue  in  blindness,  unbelief,  and  devo- 
tion to  worldly  pleasures  and  sin,  down  to  the  time  of 
his  coming  in  the  clouds  of  heaven.  "  And  as  were 
the  day-  .  N  .  -  i  :  .  shall  the  coming  of  the  Son 
of  Man  be  ;  for  as  in  tho  days  that  were  before  the 
flood,  they  were  eating  and  drinking,  marrying  and 
giving  in  marriage,  until  the  day  that  Xoe  entered 
into  the  ark,  and  knew  not  till  tho  flood  came  and 
took  them  all  away  ;  so  shall  also  the  coming  of  the 
Son  of  Man  be."  (Matt.  xxiv.  37-40.)  "  Likewise  also 
as  it  was  in  the  days  of  Lot,  they  did  eat,  they  drank, 
they  bought,  they  sold,  they  planted,  they  builded  : 
but  the  same  day  that  Lot  went  out  of  Sodom,  it 
rained  lire  and  brimstone  from  heaven  and  destroyed 
them  all.     Even  thus  shall  it  be  in  the  day  when  the 

<>f  Man  is  revealed."  Luke  xvii.  28-30.     So  I 
it   is  shown  in  the  parable  of  the  wheat  and   t, 
that  the  children  of  the  wicked  one  are  to  continue 
intermixed  with  the  children  of  the  kingdom  till  the 
end  of  the  age,  when  he  is  to  come  and  establish  his 
throne  on  the   earth.     Both  are  to   grow  together 


an  til 

':  .  1  forth  his 

gather  all  those  who  tempi  to  Bin,  and  all  that  do 
iniquit  j .  and  cast   them  in* 

that    in 

the  latter  times  of  the  I  dispen 

shall  be  an  apostasy  from  th<  irits 

and  the  doct  i  i  ami  in  the  !  -  >till 

more  perilous  times  shall  come,  when  men,  m 

of  piety,  hut  denyi  r,  shall  - 

the  monstrou  maintaining  that  ongodli 

itself  is  virtue  ;  the  vilest  and  mosl  atroci 
and  principles,  and  the  mosl  base  and  impious  ; 

and  highest  form, 
.Imii  of  reason  and  of  Christianity  :  and  will  ad- 
dict  themselves  t<>  the  mosl  lawless  indulgence  of 
their  brutal   appetites  and  fiendish  pride  and 
lignity.      1  Tim.  iv.  U3 ;  2  Tim.  iii.  !   7.     At 

time,   also,    BCoff 

prediction  that  Chi  i  .   jtroy  his 

enemies,  and  mock  at  the  faith  -  pie  in  it. 

|-  is  foreshown,  also,  thai  Christ  i-  to  descend  I 
heaven  in  infinite  glory  and  pomp  with  all  his  an 
at  the  1  the  wild 

prophet  and  their  hi  ist  him,  and  i-  l 

them  :  and  immediately  after,  enter  on  his  millennial 
:i.  and   bring  all    natioi  3    I 

-    will.      Rev,  xix.    11    21  j    w.    1    6  :    2   T 

l.  6  -1".      And.linall;  Id  that  theholy 

then  t-  a  with  him,  B 


TO  tNTEODUCE  a  Xi:\v  DI8PENS  LTION.  228 

1-6;  1  Cor.  xv.  23  57 j  1  Thess.  iv.  1  1   17.  and  that 
h.'  Is  to  <h\cll  with  men  and  manifest  his  presi 
and  glory  to  thnn.    Rev.  xxi.  1  (,t  ;  xxii.  1  5.     We 
:t  cite  a  great  number  of  other  passages  in  which 

it  la  foreshown  that  these  events  arc  to  take  place  at 
the  Bame  epoch.  Jt  is  the  representation  everywhere 
given  of  thrin  ;  it  is  the  voice  of  the  whole  prophetic 
Scriptures  respecting  them. 

Not  only  arc  these  the  plain  teachings  of  the  vi- 
sion, but  no  other  construction  can  be  put  on  it, 
without  involving  the  prophecy  in  the  grossest  con- 
tradictions. Thus,  it  cannot  be  maintained  that  the 
a  of  the  saints  i-  t<>  precede  the  coming  and  reign 
of  the  Son  of  Man,  without  such  a  contradiction  ;  as 
it  i<  expressly  declared  that  the  blaspheming  and 
persecuting  horn  "  made  war  with  the  saints  ami  pre- 
vailed against  them  until  the  Ancient  of  days  came, 
and  judicial  authority  was  given  to  the  saints  of  the 
Most  High,  and  the  time  came  that  the  saints  pos- 
1  the  kingdom,"  v.  21,  'I'l.  And  it  is  at  that 
ion  of  the  Ancient  of  days,  and  gift  of  judicial 
power  to  the  saints,  that  the  Son  of  Man  is  to  come 
in  the  clouds  of  heaven,  and  receive  the  dominion  of 
the  earth,  that  all  people  and  nations  may  Berve  him  ; 
ami  that  reception  of  the  earth  as  his  kingdom,  and 
the  glory  of  dominion  over  it  as  his  empire,  is  to  bo 
his  absolute  and  final  reception  of  it  as  such  :  not  a 
merely  preliminary  and  lower  investiture  with  au- 
thority over  it  :  for  it  is  added,  that  the  dominion 
With  which  he  is  then  to  be  invested  is  an  everlasting 


that  which  Bhall 
kin.. 

. 
fthe 

•  till  tl.      '. 

and  the 
and 

r,  that  ;  •  lod  in  which  CI 

iome  its  king  in  a  different  I 

it  a  different  domini 
notion  be  more  expn  d  of 

the  aainta  La  to  \  the  judgment  bj 

of  days,  and  tin-  i  that 

his  personal  reign  i-  i  their 

of  the  .-.tin!-  [a  oontemporaneona  with  th< 
of  tl.  bout  a  Lik 

time  when  1 1 
in.  is  thi 
the  Ancient  of  daj  b,  when  tl 
ed  ami  d  ad  until  thai  the  pen 

power  i-  t"   n.  c  en   them,  vail 

bat  thai  power  i  - 

Buprem  the  times  and  law8,  until 

judgmeni  Bhall  -i:  which 
and  i 

I-  i  •  t Christ1 


[NTB0D1  I 

g  with  that  of  the  beasl  ;  for  on  the 
one  hand,  th  ie  to  be  supreme,  hold  the  t  i 

and  laws  in  its  power,  and  make  war  on  the  saints 
and  prevail  againsl  them,  down  to  the  time  when  it. 
is  to  be  arraigned  at  the  tribunal  of  the  Ancient  of 
days  and  destroyed;  and  on  the  other,  it  is  not  till 

that  s.'<>i«>n  of  the  Ancient  of  days  and  dot  ruction 
of  the  beast,  thai  the  Son  of  Man  is  to  receive  the  do- 
minion of  the  earth,  and  bring  the  nations  into  obedi- 
to  his  sceptre.  The  reign  of  the  saints,  more- 
over. Is  to  commence  with  the  reign  of  Christ,  and 
contemporize  with  his.  But  their  reign  is  not  to 
commence  till  the  judgment  and  destruction  of  the 
wild  beast.  Hi-  reign  accordingly  is  not  to  comm< 
until  that  epoch. 

It  cannot  he  maintained  that  the  reign  of  Christ 
over  the  world,  after  his  coming  in  the  clouds  of  hea- 
ven and  assumption  of  its  dominion,  is  not  to  differ 
from  that  which  he  now  exercises  ;  for  that  would 
imply  either  that  he  is  not  in  reality  to  receive  any 
authority,  glory,  or  kingdom,  at  his  coming  in  the 
clouds,  or  else  that  he  is  not  to  exercise  any  of  the 
power  and  dominion  which  he  is  then  to  rece' 

I  of  which  is  contradictions  to  the  prediction,  and 
treal  ^ether  unmeaning  and  deceptive.    To 

rt  that  he  is  not  then  to  be  invested  with  the  do- 
minion of  the  earth,  and  he  constituted  its  king  in  a 
that  he  had  not  before  been,  is  to  contradict 
the  prediction,  for  it  is  expr  id  that  there 

given  him.  as  he  stood  before  the  Ancient  of  days, 

10* 


dominion  and  thai  all 

nations,  and  I  and  thai  the 

dominion  with  which  he  was  then  invested,  u 

1  bifl  kingdom  one  that  >hall  not 
1  by  all  domini 
AVill  any  one  in  the  | 

tion,  and  this  r< -\  Kplanation  «»l"  its  imp 

to  maintain  that  they  arc  an  onmeaning  j 

:   thai  th  ii<>n 

that  the  Boe  of  Man  la  at  bifl  coming 
with  a  dominioD  of  the  earth  he  Q< 

•  become  it-  king,  in  a  relation  and  a 
glory  he  will  nol  have  been?     Can  amor 

-•rant  contradiction  to  the  prop]. 
more  direct  impeachment  of  the  truth  of  tl 
Were  it  a  m  ramptuoiu 

ult  od  the  prophi  that  tin 

of  the  Ancient  of  days,  the  judgment  and  destruction 
of  the  beast,  the  coming  <>f  the  Son  of  Man  in  the 
clonds,  the  reign  of  I 

the  n  iti  (  hich 

they   rep  OF  imply   that  any  l. 

any  kind  are  to  enter  into  the  divine  administration, 
or  new  and  extraordinary  ocenrr 
under  it  ?    That  Christ  is  to  be  invested  with  a  new 

and  peculiar  dominion  over  the  earth   at    bifl 

must  then  be  admit  1  thence  it  must  b 

mitted  that  the  new  dominion  with  which  li- 
on which  he  is  ' 
ja  ti.  reona]  king,  *  bo 


TO  INTRODUCE  a  .v:\v  DISPENSATION.  227 

tablish  bis  throne  here,  and  appear  visibly  to  men  ; 
inasmuch  as  to  Buppose  it  otherwise,  is  either  to  Bup- 
thal  he  had  no  dominion  whatever  over  men  be- 
fore :  or  else  thai  he  had  Identically  the  same  in  kind 
as  he  is  theD  to  receive  ;  each  of  which  is  to  contra- 
dict the  prophecy,  and  the  teachings  of  every  other 
part  of  the  Bible  respecting  his  millennial  and  ever- 
lasting reign.  For  if  lie  is  not,  in  virtue  of  the  do- 
minion lie  is  at  that  epoch  to  receive,  to  reign  in  per- 
son over  the  earth,  then  the  power  he  is  to  receive  is 
simply  a  power  to  reign  over  men  invisibly  on  his 
throne  in  heaven,  as  he  now  does,  and  as  he  perhaps 
reigns  over  other  distant  realms  of  his  empire.  But  if 
his  reign  is  to  be  simply  an  invisible  one,  by  laws, 
providences,  and  the  influences  of  his  Spirit,  then  the 
gift  of  that  power  to  him  at  his  coming  in  the  clouds 
implies  that  he  had  no  such  power  before.  For  if  he 
has  it  now,  why  is  it  to  be  given  to  him  then?  But 
to  suppose  that  he  has  not  that  power  now,  is  to  con- 
tradict the  clearest  teachings  of  the  sacred  Avord.  He 
himself  declared  after  his  resurrection  that  all  power 
in  heaven  and  earth  was  given  to  him  ;  and  the  apos- 
tle avers,  that  on  his  ascension  the  Father  "set  him 
at  his  own  right  hand,  far  above  all  principality  and 
power,  and  might  and  dominion,  and  every  name  that 
is  Darned,  nut  only  in  this  world,  but  also  in  that  which 
Is  to  come,  and  hath  put  all  under  his  feet."  On  the 
other  hand,  to  admit  that  he  has  that  power  now,  and 
yet  to  maintain  that  he  is  not  to  be  invested  with  any 
higher  authority  or  kingship   at  his   coming,  is  to 


I  DVTE0D1 
maintain  thai  no  then  t«> 

ing  ami  deceptive  pageant 

( 

and  commencemenl  of  his  kingly 

of  the  Bainte  on  the  earth,  than  that  of  the  judgment 

and  destruction  of  the  powers  denoted  by  the  wild 

•  :     r  exhibit  his  rei  d  in  per- 

mere  reign  by  laws,  influi  1  provi- 

Le  the  plain  b 

phecy,  and  involve  it  in  the  gr  If-contradic- 

tion.    This  great  vision  thus  mak<  rtain  that  the 

rersion  of  the  nations  is  to  follow  the  coming 
Christ  in  the  clouds  and  establishment  of  his  thr 
on  j^he  earth — not  to  precede  it  \  ami  that  his  coming 
and  the  commenoemenl  of  his  reign  here,  and 

the  Baints  with  him,  I  the 

jndgmenl  and  destruction  of  th 
bv  the  wild 


T  BE  D  A  IE  0  F  T 1 1 1  •:  NEW  DISPE  N  S  ATION . 


CHAPTER    XVIII. 
HE  is  TO   in  si :  rrn:  this  NEW  DISPENSATION  and  enter  on  his 

REIGN  HERE  AT  THE  DESTRUCTION  OF  THE  FOURTH  EMPIRE  UNDER 
Till:  SEVENTH  TRUMPET. 

The  contemporaneousness  of  Christ's  coming,  and 
the  commencement  of  his  reign  here  and  the  reign 
of  the  saints,  with  the  judgment  of  the  powers  sym- 
bolized by  the  wild  beast,  is  revealed  also  in  the 
vision  of  the  Apocalypse  under  the  seventh  trumpet. 

"  And  the  seventh  angel  sounded,  and  there  were 
great  voices  in  heaven,  saving,  The  kingdom  of  this 
world  has  become  our  Lord's  and  his  Christ's,  and 
he  shall  reign  for  ever  and  ever.  And  the  four-and- 
twenty  elders,  who  sat  before  God  on  their  thrones, 
fell  on  their  faces  and  worshipped  God,  saying,  We 
thank  thee,  0  Lord  God,  the  Almighty,  who  is,  and 
who  was,  that  thou  hast  taken  thy  great  power  and 
reigned.  And  the  nations  were  angry,  and  thy  wrath 
is  come,  and  the  time  of  the  dead  to  be  judged,  and 
to  give  the  reward  to  thy  servants  the  prophets,  and 
to  the  saints,  and  to  those  who  fear  thy  name,  small 


and  and   t<»  destroy  those  who  the 

eartl  ..  ri.  15   L8. 

1 1  investiture  i     I  Ith  the  kingdom 

irld,  and  the  comm< 
of  hi>  ever!  r  ii  as  the  M<  ssiah,  i 

1  as  taking  place  nnder  I  oth  trumpet, 

when  the  Last  plag  the  wild  prophet, 

and  their  vassals  are  to  be  inflicl  Btile 

powers  are  I  stroyed.    Th  ty  of  the 

world  with  which  he  is  then  to  be  invi  j  un- 

doubtedly one  thai  he  had  not  b< 

relation  in  which  he  La  to  be  its  king,  and  i 
over  it.  is  one  in  which  he  had  not  bei  d  its 

monarch.    To  maintain  that  he  is  not,  then,  to  rc- 

e  any  dominion  he  did  and 

exercise,  and  that  he  is  not  then  to  become  the  mon- 
arch and  ruler  of  the  earth  in  any  i  than 

that    in  which  he    UOW  IB,  >ntradict    tl 

and  make  the  proclamation  by  t.  from 

heaven  empty  Bounds,  uttering  no  prophecy,  and 
veying  no  information.    No  one  who  r  the 

vision  as  divine  will  be  so  rash  ihibil  th. 

But  if  tli  .  and 

Christ  as 
and  the  commencement  of  his  reignii  it.  then 

it  must  be  a  revelation  that  he  is  at  that  epoch  t 
-  his  kingdom,  in  which  he  u 
i  in  person  and  visibly;  for  othen  will 

oor  in  any  other  the  monarch  of 

the  earth  than  1.  D 


231 

at  the  righl  hand  of  the  majesty  on  high,  and 

in--  all  power  in  heaven  ami  earth,  reign  over  our 
world  by  laws,  influences,  and  providences?  And  if 
he  is  only  to  reign  in  thai  manner  after  the  seventh 
trumpet,  will  he  possess  anymore  dominion,  or  reign 
•  >vcr  it  in  any  oilier  way  than  lie  now  does?  The 
prophecy  that  lie  is  then  to  receive  the  world  as  his 
kingdom,  and  commence  an  everlasting  reign  over  it, 
is  thus  demonstratively  a  prophecy  that  he  is  then  to 
come  to  the  earth, receive  it  as  his  peculiar  kingdom, 
and  reign  over  it  in  person. 

But  the  reception  of  the  world  as  his  kingdom  is 
t<»  take  place  at  the  time  of  the  destruction  of  the 
wild  beasl  :  lor  it  is  to  be  at  the  time  of  the  seventh 
trumpet,  and  the  time  of  the  Almighty's  wrath,  when 
he  is  to  destroy  those  who  destroy  the  earth  ;  and 
those  destroyers  are  the  wild  bjast,the  false  prophet, 
and  Jiabylon,  the  symbols  of  the  apostate  and  perse- 
cuting civil  and  ecclesiastical  riders  of  the  ten  king- 
doms of  the  Apocalypse,  on  whose  subjects  and 
throne  the  first  six  vials  are  poured,  and  whose  de- 
struction is  to  take  place  under  the  seventh. 

The  time  of  this  reception  of  the  world  as  his  king- 
dom, and  destruction  of  the  wild  beast  and  false  pro- 
phet, is  also  to  be  the  time  of  the  holy  dead,  that 
Christ  should  judge  and  give  reward  to  his  servants 
the  prophets,  and  to  the  saints,  and  to  them  among 
the  living  also  that  fear  his  name,  both  small  and 
great  ;  and  that  is  the  time  of  the  resurrection  of  the 
holy  dead,  therefore  ;  for  it  is  at  their  resurrection 


that   : 

and  | 

i  with  Christ.  I  6  ;   l   ( k>rin.  xv.  51 

.  \!i.  1   B;  Matt  liii.  37  43.     The  tin 
I  eptioD  of  the  world  as  his  1 

dom,  and  destruction  of  irth, 

the  time  of  his  coming  in  the  clouds  of 
in  greal  and  power  :  and  hu 

the  earth  is  accordingly  I 

son.    For  he  is  to  come  in  person  at  the  i  stion 

of  the  h<»ly  dead,  and  thejndgm 

reward    of   the  living   saint-.      II 
uds  of  h 

his  1;  mi  \b.    Thus,  "The  I-  >rd  himself 

n  with  a  ahout,  with  the 
archangel,  and  with  the  trump oi 

<  :  wards  * 

survive,  BhaU  be  caught  up  together 
Lord  in  the  air  ]  er  with 

:  :."  1  Theas.  iv.  16,  IT.  ••  We  ah  II  not  i  U  b! 
but  we  ahall  all  be  changed,  in  a  moment,  in 
twinkling  of  an  I    the  last    trun 

trumpet  Bhall  sound,  and  the  dead  shall  be  r 
corruptible,  and  U  be  changed/'  1  Cor.  xv. 

'•  When  the  Son  of  Man  shall  come  in  1 
and    all   the   holy  BAgels  with   him.    then    shall    h 

upon  re  him  - 

all  i  ia,  the  living — u  1 

• 
herd  divideth  hie  From  the  Bhall 


UNDEB  THE  SEVENTH  TRUli  233 

Bel  the  Bheep  od  his  right  hand,  but  the  goats  on  I  be 
left  :  and  these  shall  go  away  into  everlasting  pun- 
ishment, but  the  righteous  into  life  eternal,"  Matt. 

x.w.  31  lt>.  "  The  Lord  Jesus  shall  be  revealed  from 
heaven  with  his  mighty  angels,  in  flaming  fire,  taking 

vengeance  on  them  that  know  not  God,  and  that  obey 
not  the  gospel  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  who  shall  be 
punished  with  everlasting  destruction  from  the  pre- 
sence of  the  Lord,  and  from  the  glory  of  his  power, 
when  he  shall  come  to  be  glorified  in  his  saints,  and 
admired  in  all  them  that  believe,"  2  Thess.  i.  7-10. 
All  these  passages  thus  teach,  in  the  most  expr 
manner,  that  Christ  is  to  come  in  person  and  visibly 
at  the  resurrection  of  the  holy  dead,  the  acceptance 
of  the  living  saints,  and  the  judgment  and  destruction 
of  his  enemies.  As,  then,  at  the  seventh  trumpet, 
when  he  is  to  receive  the  world  as  his  kingdom,  he 
is  to  judge  and  reward  the  holy  dead,  and  the  holy 
living  small  and  great,  and  destroy  his  enemies — acts 
in  which  he  is  to  be  personally  present, — it  is  clear 
that  he  is  then  to  come  in  the  clouds  of  heaven  in 
person  and  visibly,  and  thence  that  the  everlasting 
reign  on  which  he  is  then  to  enter  over  the  world  is 
to  be  a  reign  in  person  and  visibly.  But  that  is  to 
be  the  period  of  the  conversion  of  the  nations  of  the 
world.  For  immediately  after  the  infliction  of  the 
.  it  was  chanted  before  the  throne  by 
those  who  had  gotten  the  victory  over  the  beast  and 
over  his  image,  that  "All  nations  shall  come  and  wor- 
ship before  him,  because  his  righteous  judgments," 


in  destroy  ing  hi  M  have  Knaai- 

.  l. 
[|  is  from  this  prophecy,  as  well  as  from 

that  of  Daniel,  that  the  epoch  of  the  i 
oati  be  the  epoch  of  Christ'i  comii 

:  he  dominion  arth 

aa  his  kingdom,  raising  I  in  j_rl"r. . 

ganiged  enemies,  and  enterii 
rlasting  reign  here  in  person  and  visible  glory. 
There;  ■..■ml  other  pat  hidi  show  with 

equal  cl<  in  i  —  I  hat   the  Son  of  Man  is  to  com 
person,  in  power,  and  in  glory,  al  the  destrnction  of 
the  enemies  and  pen  f  his  kingdom ;  and  that 

that  coming  and  extermination  of  bis  foes  is  I 
preparatory  to  his  n  its  king, 

and  '  Lience  <•!'  the  cations  t<»  his  Bway-.     Thus, 

when  at  the  redemption  of  Zion,  M  the  hand  of  the 
I.     !  is  i"  be  made  known  towards  I 

adignation  towards  his  enemies,"  h< 
with  fire,  and  his  chariots  like  a  whirlwind,  I 
Dger  with  fnry,  and  bis  rebukes  \\\\\i  i 

r  r  by  fire  and  by  his  Bword  \\U\  the   1 
1  with  all  Ik-sli  :  and  the  slain  of  the  Lord  shall 
•  ."  [aa.  lwi.  15,  16.     That  this  coming  ii 
I  ••  in  person  and  visibly .  from  its  being  with 

and  with  chariots,  and  that  flames  of  li: 
be  instruments  <>f  hi  on  his  i 

vn  also  by  the  comparison  of  his  with 

and  chai  the  rush,  tl  and 

ling  flashes  perhaps  of  a  whirlwind  :  as  it  is 


0NDEB  THE  SEVENTH  TBUMPET.        235 

fche  l;;w  of  thai  figure,  that  the  things  compared  are 
identically  what  their  names  literally  denote — their 
names  always  being  u<cd  in  their  proper  sense,  doI 
by  a  metaphor.     As  he  therefore  Is  to  come  with  real 

fire  and  real  chariots,  he  is  to  conic  in  person  and 
visibly.  For  it  is  htS  coming  with  fire  and  chariots, 
not  the  mere  coming  of  fire  ami  chariots,  that  is  com- 
pared to  such  a  whirlwind.  l»u t  tin's  coming  is  to  be 
at  the  epoch  of  the  conversion  of  the  nations  ;  for  it 
IS  added.  ••  It  .-hall  come  that  I  will  gather  all  nations 
and  tongues,  and  they  shall  come  and  sec  my  -lory  ; 
and  I  will  set  a  Bign  among  them,  and  I  will  send 
those  th.it  escape  of  them  unto  the  nations,  to  the 
isles  afar  off  that  have  not  heard  my  fame,  neither 
have  seen  my  glory,  and  they  shall  declare  my  glory 
among  the  Gentiles."  And  that  is  to  be  followed  by 
the  restoration  of  the  Israelites  who  still  remain  in 
dispersion,  and  the  conversion  and  obedience  of  the 
whole  race,  "And  they  shall  bring  all  your  brethren 
for  an  offering  unto  the  Lord,  out  of  all  nations  ;  and 
I  will  take  of  them  for  priests  and  for  Levites,  Baith 
tin1  Lord.  For  as  the  new  heavens  and  the  new  earth 
which  1  will  make  shall  remain  before  me,  Baith  the 
Lord,  so  shall  yonr  seed  and  your  name  remain.  And 
it  shall  come  to  pass,  that  from  one  new  moon  to  an- 
other, and  from  one  Babbath  to  another,  shall  all  flesh 
come  to  worship  before  me.  Baith  the  Lord,"  v.  18—23. 
These  Gentile  nations  cannot  before  have  been  con- 
verted to  God  :  for  how  then  could  it  be  said  that 
the  nations  of  Asia.  Africa,  and  Europe,  nearest  Pal- 


[ales  afar  off,  \\  ill  not  until  tl 

,  his  glorj  '.'     1 ' 

I  tion  of  t  b  atmosph 

Dew  earth,  and  establishment 
■  i.  not  before,  thai  all  i. 
re  him. 
Th<  like  prediction,  also,  in  Zechariah :  UB  - 

hold  the  day  of  the  L  meth,  and  tl.  shall 

livided  in  the  midsi  of  thee.     For  I  will  gather 
all  nations  again*  battle  ;  and 

shall  be  taken,  and  half  the  eit\  rth  into 

captivity.     Then  shall  the  Lord  go  forth  and  fight 
against  those  nations,  as  when  he  fonght  in  I 
of  battle  :  and  hit  1  in  thai 

Mou  ilives,  which  is  I  Jem  on  the 

and  the  Monnl  i  Bhall  cleave  in  the  □ 

thei' 

L  >rd  my  God  Bhall  a 

all  the  saints  with  tli'  A     L  Lord  shall  be  king 

all  the  earth  :   in  that  day  shall  tin.". 

h,  and  hi 

is  ]  hich 

ip  from  ; 
rship  tl  the  Lord       11 

tabernacles,"  xiv.  1 
■ 
u  ii  by  the  fact  that  his 
Olives,  which  it 


UNDER   THE  SEVENTH   TRUMPET.  287 

I  i8  Bnown,  also,  by  bis  bringing  all  the  saints,  thai 
is,  the  holy  dead,  who  will  then  have  been  raised  to 
life,  with  him.  Thai  he  is  then  to  receive  the  domi- 
nion of  the  earth  and  commence  his  reign  over  it,  as  is 
also  shown  in  Daniel  and  the  Apocalj  -n  from 

the  prediction,  that  "in  that  day  Jehovah  shall  bo 
king  over  all  the  earth  ;  and  there  shall  be  one  Jeho- 
vah, and  his  name  one/' — an  announcement  that  would 
be  wholly  nugatory  and  meaningless,  if  lie  is  not  then 
to  be  the  F  the  earth — the  Jehovah  alone,  bear- 

ing one  name. — in  a  manner  he  had  never  before  b 
And  that  the  conversion  of  the  nations  is  not  to  take 
place  previously  to  that  visible  coming  and  destruc- 
tion of  the  enemies  of  his  kingdom,  but  is  to  be  con- 
sequent on  his  presence  and  his  judgments,  is  ^ccn 
from  the  prediction  that  the  nations  are,  at  the  time 
of  his  appearing,  to  be  gathered  in  array  against  Je- 
lem,  in  order  to  prevent  the  establishment  of  his 
chosen  people  there,  and  that  he  is  to  fight  with  them. 
It  is  not  until  he  has  enthroned  himself  there,  that 
all  nations  are  to  come  there  to  worship  in  his  pre- 
sence. 

In  like  manner  it  i-  own  in  the  Apocalyps   . 

that  Chrisl  Is  to  come  in  person  at  the  destruction  of 
the  wild  prophet,  and  is  then  to  enter 

on  his  reign  over  the  nations  as  the  King  of  kings 
and  Lord  of  lord-. 

"And   I   saw  I  Opened,  and  behold  a  white 

horse  ;  and  he  that  sat  upon  him  was  called  faithful 
and  true,  and   in   righteousness  doth  he  judge  and 


emu 

make  war.       I  fire,  and    00 

his  bead  were  many  1  he  had  a  nana-  writ- 

ten that  n«»  man  knew  but  In;  himself.     An-! 
clothed  \\  ith  a  vesture  <  1  i  ] » j »« -<  1  in  blood,  and  his  name 
Ued  the  Word  of  God.    And  the  ami 

followed  liim  upon  white  DOI  bed  in  line  Li 

white  aii.l  clean.    And  "in  of  his  month  goeth  a  Bharp 
sword,  that  with  it  he  should  Bmite  the  i  and 

hall  rule  them  with  a  rod  of  iron,  and  he  treadeth 
the  wine-press  of  the  fierceness  of  the  wrath  of  the 
Almighty  God.  And  he  hath  on  his  vesture,  and  on 
hi>  thigh,  a  name  written,  Bang  of  kings  and  Lord  of 
lords.     And  I  saw  the  beast  and  the  k 

earth  and  their  armies  gathered  t "-ether  to  make  war 

against  him  on  the  white  horse,  and  against  his  army. 
And  the  beast  was  taken, and  with  him  t]  pro- 

phel  thai  wrought  miracles  before  him,  with  which 

lie  deceived  them  that  had  n  the  mark  of  the 

i.  and  them  that  worshipped  his  image,    'i 

both  were  east  alive  into  a  lake  ol'  lire  and  brimst 
And  the  remnant  were  slain  with   ti  him 

that  >at   upon  the  horse  which    p:  :    hi- 

mouth."— Rev.  xix.  11  21. 

The    pi  ■   on   the  white   horfl  I  tred  to 

he  the  Word  of  God,  and  his  appearing  in  the  vision 

denotes    that    he    i<    to   appear  in  person  in  ti 

which  it  foreshows *)  it  being  a  law  of  Bymbolizat 

that  if  the  appearance  of  the  deity  in  person  i-  t 
foreshown,  he  appears  in  person  in  t  a   which 

foreshows  it  ;  ami  of  necessity,  inasmuch  as  no  oiler 


tJNDEfi  THE  BBVENTH  TBUMPET.  28  I 

being  can  properly  represent  bis  personal  appearance. 
Thus  the  Ancienl  of  days,  in  Daniel,  appeared  in  the 
vision  foreshowing  his  session  in  the  judgment  of  the 
civil  rulers  of  the  fourth  kingdom,  which  the  vision 
symbolizes  ;  and  the  one  like  a  Son  of  Man,  coming 
in  the  clouds  of  heaven,  appeared  in  the  vision,  which 
was  employed  to  foreshow  his  real  coming  in  the 
clouds  at  the  judgment  of  the  powers  denoted  by  the 
beast,  and  reception  of  the  dominion  of  the  earth;  in 
the  same  manner  as  his  appearance  in  the  vision  of 
the  last  judgment,  Rev.  xx.  11-15,  foreshows  his  real 
personal  presence  in  the  great  scene  of  the  resurrec- 
tion and  judgment  which  that  vision  symbolizes.  It 
lies  us,  therefore,  in  the  most  indubitable  and 
impressive  manner,  that  he  is  to  come  in  person  at 
the  destruction  of  the  civil  and  ecclesiastical  rulers 
denoted  by  the  wild  beast  and  false  prophet. 

The  coming  with  him  of  the  armies  of  heaven 
clothed  in  white  robes  shows,  also,  that  it  is  to  be  at 
the  epoch  of  the  resurrection  of  the  holy  dead  ;  for 
white  robes  are  symbols  of  the  righteousness  of  the 
saints  and  indicate  that  those  who  wear  them  are  the 
redeemed  >aints,  and  therefore  have  been  raised  from 
the  dead  ;  as  otherwise,  their  being  borne  on  horses 
would  he  unnatural.  It  is  proper  to  corporeal  beings 
only,  not  to  mere  spirits,  to  be  borne  on  steeds,  and 
to  make  war  with  corporeal  beings.  It  is  foreshown, 
also,  in  tic  vision  preceding  this,  that  the  marriage 
of  the  Lamb  had  come,  and  his  wife  had  made  herself 
ready,  being  clothed  in  fine  linen,  which  is  the  righte- 


mbol 
i  of  tl.  to  thai   relatioD  t<» 

(  they 

ii  \\  i 1 1 1  him  ;  and  impli< 
.  that  thej  are  then  * 
their  glorious  and  immortal  forms.     Ii 
epoch,  also,  of  Christ's  becoming  the   i. 

proclaimed  immediately 
the   I  T       Lord  God  ( Omnipotent   n 

I  [(  \\  appeared, on  his  doscent  from 

with  the  title  on  hi 

I  of  lords  :"  and  it  was  predicted  th  raid 

nations  with  his  Bword,  and  rule  them 
with  an  iron  rod.w    Jle  is  then,  ther< 
the  dominion  of  the  earth,  i 

vii.   13,  1  1.  and   B    ■       '.   it  his 

eternal  reign.     It  is  after  his  pen 
ingly,  that  the  nations  ai  I  his 

coming  they  arc  rrayed  in  war  i  him, 

and  vast  multitudes  of  them  are  to  b<  at)yhim 

in  the  win.--j.re--  of  his  w  rath. 

Th  are  tin:  ther  in 

this  ad  exhil  the  .-ana-  j  - 

are  grouped  together  in  the  prophecy  oi    l'  :  .•  ■!.  of 

i      ih,  and  of  Zechariah,  and  the  vision  of  the  seventh 

trumpet  of  the  Apocalypse,  and  foreshown  ac 

j. lace  at  the  >;iine  epoch.    They  can  no  mor< 

arated  from  each  other  and  assigned  to  differi 

than  the  apj  I  be  Judge  on  the 


UNDER  TIIK  BEVBNTH  TRUMPET.  -11 

throne,  Rev.  xx.  11-15,  and  tho  resurrect ion  and  <loom 
of  the  dead  and  their  judgment,  can  be  separated 
from  each  other,  and  referred  to  different  epochs  and 
ages  ;  or  any  more  than  tho  separation  of  the  right- 
eous from  the  wicked  in  the  judgment  of  tho  living 
nations,  Matt.  xxv.  31-46  ;  the  placing  of  tho  right- 
eous on  the  right  hand  and  tho  wicked  on  tho  left; 
and  the  welcome  of  tho  one  to  tho  kingdom  prepared 
for  tlicm,  and  tho  doom  of  tho  other  to  fire,  can  be 
disjoined  from  each  other  and  referred  to  widely  dif- 
ferent epochs. 

This  vision  of  the  personal  coming  of  the  Word  of 
God,  with  his  risen  saints,  at  tho  destruction  of  tho 
powers  denoted  by  the  beast  and  false  prophet,  is 
followed  by  a  vision  of  tho  resurrection  of  the  dead 
saints,  and  their  exaltation  to  thronos  to  reign  with 
Christ  during  tho  thousand  years. 

"  And  I  saw  thrones,  and  they  sat  upon  them,  and 
judgment  was  given  unto  them  ;  and  I  saw  the  souls 
of  those  who  had  been  beheaded  for  the  witness  of 
Jesus,  and  for  tho  word  of  God,  and  whoever  had  not 
worshipped  the  beast,  nor  its  imago,  and  had  not 
received  the  mark  upon  their  forehead  and  in  their 
hand  ;  and  they  lived  and  reigned  with  Christ  the 
thousand  years.  Bnt  tho  rest  of  tho  dead  lived  not 
until  the  thousand  years  were  finished.  This  is  tho 
first  resurrection.  Blessed  and  holy  is  he  "who  has 
part  in  the  first  resurrection  :  over  them  the  second 
death  lias  no  power,  but  they  shall  be  priests  of  God 

11 


and        I  _-  n  with  him  a  thoue      I 

This  vision  is  thus  declared  by  the  i  Spirit 

himself  to  I  j  mbo!  of  the  fii  Lion  j 

ami  •  resurrection  it 

clared  to  be  holy  and  I  And  this,  and 

whole  Bpectacle  itself,  showe  that  it 
real  corporeal  n  m  of  the  holy  de    I.     I 

not,  as  many  have  supposed,  be  a  Bymbol  of  the 
moral  resurr<  r  the  renovation  of  men  ;  for 

would  imply  that  no  renovation  of  men  by  the  Spirit 
lia<l  ever  taken  plan-.     Bow  can  this  vision  foreshow 
the  first  renovation  of  men,  if  thousands  and  millions 
of  renovations  had  before  been  wrought  by  I 
rit  :  if  the  martyrs  and  witnesses  for  J  then 

whu  appeared  in  the  vision  i  I  from  th< 

had  themsel  an  renewed,  myriads  and 

millions  of  them,  ages  bei  vision  it  tits 

mplishment  ?    That   absurd  notion 
the  bj  mbols  them* '  pre- 

11  of  them  that  is  given  by  the  Spirit.    Th< 
sentative  pen  the  holy  dead  ;  those  who  had 

not   worshipped  the  beast  nor  it-  image,  but   had 
resisted  their  Bway,  and  maintained  allegiance  to  G 
TIm'  representative  events  and  acts  are  their  resur- 
rection in  glory,  investiture  with  judicial — thai 
kingly — authority  >n  on  th  ad  reigning 

with  Christ  a  thousand  years,  in  holiness  and  blea 
But  such  holy  persons  are  not  propei 
:    unrenewed    men   in   the   natural 


I  NDER  THE  SEVEN!  II  TRUMPET.  2  Yd 

Their  characters  and  relations  to  God  are  direct  op- 
posites,  in  place  of  resembling  each  othtfr.  The 
resurrection  of  those  Baints  in  glory  is  no  proper  sym- 
bol of  tlif  renovation  of  men,  in  the  natural  body,  who 
arc  al  enmity  with  Clod.  It  were  to  make  bul  one- 
half  of  the  nature,  the  body,  of  his  risen  saint-,  the 
representative  of  bnt  one-half  of  the  nature,  and  the 
opposite  one,  the  mind,  of  the  renewed  sinner,  which 

mtradictious  and  absurd.  Whatever  the  risen 
saint  is  the  symbol  of,  it  is  in  his  whole  being,  body 
and  Bonl,  that  he  is  the  Bymbol  of  it.  It  can  no  more 
be  claimed  that  only  his  body  is  a  Bymbol,  than  it  ran 
that  the  l»»>dy  is  the  only  part  of  the  being  which  he, 
as  a  Bymbol,  represents.  It  is  impossible,  therefore, 
that  the  risen  saints,  perfect  both  in  mind  and  body, 
and  freed  from  the  curse  of  sin,  can  be  the  represen- 
tatives of  the  whole  nature  of  men  in  the  natural  life. 
both  in  a  state  of  mental  non-renovation  and  renova- 
tion, and  continuing  after  renovation  under  the  do- 
minion in  a  la rge  measure  of  sin,  and,  without  mitiga- 
tion, under  the  sentence  to  corporeal  death.  No  two 
beings,  no  two  conditions,  can  be  more  devoid  of  the 

mblance  which  must  subsist  between  symbols 
and  that  which  they  symbol: 

In  a  like  manner,  the  gift  to  the  risen  saints  <.f 
judicial  or  kingly  authority,  their  elevation  to  thrones', 
and   reigning  with    Christ  a  thousand  years,  has  no 

aterpart  in  the  natural  life  and  condition  of  d 

i,  who  are  simply  renewed.  With  what  kingly 
authority  are  those  «<I*  tl.  a  re- 


•J  11  CHI 

their  sul 
them  pn  to  any  judicial  authority  over  th< 

tioui       I  *    w hat  thrones  are  th 

ign  with  ('  that 

the  :  tion  of  men  ini  m  n  ith  such 

a  u  lt 

and  influent  <ntradi<-- 

tion  t.»  tli«'  consciousness  and  conditions  of  tin-  *  hole 
people  i  ny  further  refutation.     It  i> 

tin-  fanatical  ami  impious  oiriy,  like  Munzer  and  his 
followers  of  tin-  sixteenth  cento  claim  1 

clothed  with  such  power  and  lill  such  off 
The  events  symbolised  by  the  vision,  then,  an 
oreaJ  resurrection  of  the  holy  dead,  inv 
tore  with  judicial  powi  r,  elevation  to  thn 

ing  with  Christ  a  thousand  years;  and  tl 
be  saints  th 
pearing  in  the  vision,  being  raised   from  the  d 

I  authority,  ami   reigning  with  Chr 

cans  could  repn 

them  in  I  :  it  being  a  law  of  Bymbola 

when  no  rej  ■  :it  kind  can  be 

found  to  Bymboliae  the  person  or  pei 
shown,  either  in  their  nature  or  in  the  conditi 

that   arc  t«>  I  -nitcd.  then  the  being  or  Ik 

t"  be  r<  pi'  9ented,  appear  in  their  own  persons  in 

\  !i  representath  as.    Thus  the  An- 
cient Son  of  Man,  the  Lamb,  the  W 
God                 I  th-  mselves  in  1  in  which 


DKDBB  TH1  SEVENTH  TRUMPET.  246 

there  was  a  representation  of  their  real  appearance 
in  the  Bcenee  that  were  foreshown. 
Bnl  this  resurrection  of  tin-  holy  dead  i-  to  be  at 

tin'  epoch  of  Christ's  second  coming  ;  as  is  shown  by 
the  passages  we  have  already  cited,  which  declare 
that  ho  is  to  descend  from  heaven  at  the  resurrection 
of  his  saints  ;  and  by  the  vision  of  the  preceding 
chapter,  of  his  descent  from  heaven  with  the  armies 
at  the  great  battle  with  the  beast  and  false  prophet. 
His  second  coming,  therefore,  and  this  first  resurrec- 
tion, arc  to  take  place  before  the  millennium  :  as  it 
lb  expressly  declared  that  the  thousand  years  of  the 
saints'  reign  with  him  are  to  follow  their  resurrec- 
tion, not  precede  it.  And  it  is  also  to  precede  the 
conversion  of  the  nations  ;  for  it  is  not  until  after  the 
resurrection  of  the  saints, and  investiture  with  crown-, 
that  all  nations  become  obedient  to  Christ's  sway.  It 
is  after  the  descent  of  the  New  Jerusalem,  the  sym- 
bol of  the  risen  saints  in  their  relation  to  Christ  as 
the  bride,  that  is,  in  their  stations  as  kings  and  prie 
which  they  are  ever  thereafter  to  fill,  that  the  nations 
are  to  be  healed  by  the  leaves  of  the  tree  of  life,  which 
is  to  grow  on  the  banks  of  the  river  flowing  from  the 
throne  of  God  and  the  Lamb  in  that  city  :  and  not 
till  then,  that  they  are  to  walk  in  the  light  of  that 
city,  and  the  kings  of  the  earth  are  to  bring  their 
glory  and  honor  into  it.  Down  to  the  time  of  Christ's 
coming,  they  are  to  continue  in  alienation  ;  and  are 
at  that  crisis  to  rise  to  a  climax  of  rebellion,  and  unite 
in  an  attempt  to  confute  the  predictions  of  his  word, 


• 

Lnstitati 

millennial  kingdom  there.    Tim-,  again,  in  these  pro- 

!  afl  of  the  same 
ch — the  coming  of  the  Word  of  God  is 

ion  of  the  saints,  I  ring  on 

bis  reign  on  the  earth,  the  reign  of  th<  with 

him,  and,  consequent  thereon,  the  conversion  of  the 
natio 
Bui  n.it  only  are  th  t  change  admin- 

tion  of  the  world  to  be  introduced  at  that  pei 
another  evenl  of  the  utmost  Bignificance  to  the  con- 
version and  sanctificatioD  of  men  is  I  that 
in  and  his  legions  are  to  I              led  from 
the  earth,  and  intercepted  during  the  thousand  j 
from  tempting  the  1 

Aii'l  I  saw  an  an.  down  from  I  hav- 

ing the  key  of  the  bottomless  pit,  and  b  bain 

in  his  hand.     And  he  laid  hold  on  the  dragon,  the  old 
•  lit.  which  is  the  Devil  and  Satan,  and  bound  him 
a  thousand  years,  and  cast  him  into  the  bottom 
pit,  and  .-hut  him  up,  ai  I  np.ui  him,  that 

bould  deceive  the  nations  no  more,  till  the  thou- 
sand bould  be  fulfilled  ;  and  after  that  he  most 
be  loosed  a  li  B     .  w.  l   3. 

The  bindii  ban,  the 

phecy  thus  declares,  is  in  order  that  he  Bhould  de< 
men  no  more,  till  the  thousand  ould  be  fin- 

l.    11  therefore,  the  total  ption 

of  his  tempting  on  them.     He  i 


QNDEB  Tin:  BBVENTH  TRUMPET.  2  17 

or  i  atice  them  no  more ;  he  is  nol  to  exerl  any  tempt- 
ing agency  on  them  whatever  during  thai  .period. 
And  this  is  signified  also  by  his  binding  and  impri- 
sonment, which  indicate  thai  he  is  to  be  debarred 
from  access  to  them,  and  banished  from  their  pre- 
sence. To  suppose  him  capable  of  influencing  them, 
when  held  a  prisoner  at  a  distance  in  a  deep  abyss, 
would  be  to  suppose  him  omnipresent,  omniseicnt, 
and  omnipotent,  which  would  be  to  regard  him  as  a 
god,  m»t  a  creature.  This  measure  of  the  divine  ad- 
ministration will  contribute  to  distinguish  thai  epoch 
from  the  present  age,  and  will  exert  the  most  mo- 
mentous influence  on  the  condition  and  conduct  of 
the  nations  and  of  individuals.  How  vast  the  influ- 
ence is  which  Satan  exerts,  is  seen  from  the  predic- 
t  ion  which  follows,  that  immediately  alter  he  is  loosed 
again,  he  is  t<>  go  out  and  prompt  the  nations,  which 
are  in  the  four  quarters  of  the  earth,  to  gather  them- 
selves together  to  battle  with  the  saints.  He  is  now, 
the  Scriptures  represent,  the  tempter  of  men  to  all 
the  great  Bins  which  they  commit.  We  are  directed 
to  pray,  M  Load  us  not  into  temptation,  hut  deliver  us 
Prom  the  Evil  One."  He  is  exhibited  as  reigning  in 
the  hearts  of  the  children  of  disobedience  j  as  betray- 
in--  the  nations  into  all  their  false  religions  ;  as  going 
about  Booking  whom  he  may  devour;  and  as  cease- 
lessly hurling  fiery  darts,  to  protect  himself  from 
which  everyone  needs  the  shield  of  faith.  To  bo 
freed,  i:  .  at  once  from  all  his  assaults,  to  bo 

exempted  from  all  the  vasl  enginery  of  his  direct  in- 


Ml 

QoenoeB,  and  the  mj  nd  millions  of  evil  men 

whom   !.. 

will  be  a  momentoua  change  in  the  condition  of  i 
and  will  remove  a  most  formidable  barrier  to  their 
conversion  and  Bubseqnent  obedienc  . 


CHRIST  is  TO  HEIGH  IN  PERSON  ON  THE  EARTH.      219 


CHAPTER   XIX. 

THAT  CHRIST  IS  THUS  TO  COME  AND  REIGN  IN  TERSON  ON  THE  EARTH 
IS  THE  UNIFORM  TEACHING  OF  THE  SCRIPTURES. 

The  prophecies  adduced  in  the  preceding  chapters 
thus,  in  the  clearest  manner,  exhibit  this  group  of 
momentous  events  as  to  occur  at  the  same  epoch.  It 
is  not,  however,  the  teaching  of  those  passages  alono 
— it  is  the  representation  of  the  whole  series  of  the 
prophecies  that  relate  to  the  subject.  There  is  not 
a  single  passage  in  the  word  of  God  that  declares 
that  tho  nations  are  to  be  converted  before  the 
second  coming  of  Christ.  Let  those  who  think  other- 
wise produce  one,  if  they  can.  There  is  not  a  passage 
that  clearly  implies  that  their  conversion  is  to  pre- 
cede his  coming.  So  far  from  it,  all  the  predictions 
that  are  usually  cited  as  teaching  that  their  conver- 
sion is  to  take  place  under  the  present  dispensation, 
be  lore  he  comes  to  raise  the  holy  dead,  and  new  cre- 
ate the  earth  and  air,  either  expressly  indicate  that 
it  is  to  take  place  at  his  second  coming,  or  else  sim- 
ply announce  that  it  is  to  take  place,  without  a  speci- 
fication of  the  period  :  and  are, therefore,  in  harmony 

11* 


250     i  Hi  1111:  i:\ 

With  the  Qumer  h  is  thai 

«il*  bj  i  : 1 1 1 •  1  commencing  i  □  tin* 

earth.    Thus  the  proph  iah  ii.  2   L,         ften 

quofc  bat  all  i  re  to  be 

d  by  the  mean  I  to  Chi 

them,  and  anterior  to  Christ's  comii 

\ \i<\  it  shall  come  to  pass  in  ti  .  the 

mountain  of  the  L    "d'fi  itablished  in 

the  top  of  the  mountains,  and  Bhall  be  exalted  al 
the  hilla  :  and  all  d  mall  flow  unto  it.    And 

many  people  shall  go  and  say:  I  e,  and  1 

go  up  to  the  mountain  of  the  Lord,  to  tin-  I 
the  God  of  Jacob,  and  he  will  teach  as  of  his  v. 
and  we  will  walk  in  his  patbi  it  of  Eon  shall 

:  -rtli  the  law,  and  th<  ■  L  ■: ■■!  : 

lem.  A'  1  he  Bhall  judge  among  the  nations,  and 
shall  rebuke  many  people  ;  and  they  shall  heat  their 
Bwords    into    plough-shares  and   tl.  into 

pruning-hooks ;  nation  shall  not   lift  .-word  against 
nation,  neither  shall  they  learn  war  any  moi 
This  is  alle  tion  that  all  nations 

I  from  idolatry,  and  enter  the  Chris- 
church  anteri  >r  to  I  tning  ;  but  it  is 
clearly  by  a  gratuitous  assumption.  Then  hint 
in  it.  that  the  exaltation  of  the  Lord's  h  I  the 
flowing  of  all  oal  ;;.  is  to  | 
advent.  Instead,  the  time  when  tl 

cpressly  declared  to  be  the  "  1 
which  arc  sometimes  indeed  employed  in  the  prophe- 

>f  the  pn  it  usual* 


CHRIST  [S  TO  l;!*i«.N  i.\  PERSON  ON  THE  EARTH.      251 

\\  the  time  when  Christ  is  to  come  in  the  clouds  ef 
heaven  and  receive  the  dominion  of  the  earth,  that 

all   people   and   nations   may  serve   liini.      Thus    they 

sometimes  denote  the  day  of  the  resurrection  ;  as 

when  Martha  said  in  respect  to  Ln/anis,  "I  know- 
that  he  shall  rise  again  at  the  last  day,"  John  xi.  24, 
and  vi.  B9,  lo,  4  1.  54.  Sometimes  they  denote  the 
day  of  judgment,  as  in  the  expression,  "The  same 
shall  judge  him  in  the  last  day,"  John  xii.48.  Some- 
times they  denote  the  great  and  terrible  day  of 
Christ's  coming,  immediately  before  which  the  sun 
is  to  be  turned  into  darkness  and  the  moon  into 
blood  ;  and  when  he  is  to  pour  out  of  his  Spirit  on 
all  flesh,  and  convert  the  nations  universally  by  his 
mighty  influences,  as  Joel  ii.  28,  32  ;  Aets  ii.  16,  21. 
The  period  to  which  the  prophecy  refers  is  thus 
shown,  by  that  designation,  to  be  that  of  Christ's 
coming  :  and  this  is  confirmed  and  made  indisputa- 
ble by  the  latter  part  of  the  prediction,  in  which  it 
is  foretold  that  "the  day  of  the  Lord."  when  that 
shall  be  accomplished,  "  shall  be  upon  every  one 
that  is  proud  and  lofty,  and  upon  every  one  that  is 
lifted  np  :  and  he  shall  be  brought  low,  and  the  loft  i- 
-  of  man  shall  be  bowed  down,  and  the  haughti- 
of  men  Bhall  be  made  low.  and  the  Lord  alone 
shall  be  exalted  in  that  day.  And  the  idols  he  shall 
abolish  utterly.  And  they  shall  ge  into  the  holes  of  the 
rocks,  a  ml  into  the  ceres  of  the  earth,  for  fear  of  the 
/.  .■■/.  and  for  the  glory  of  Li*  majesty  when  he  ariaeth 
toahoh  terribly  the  earth"  ii.  10-21.    Their  attempt- 


of  the  moontaii 

for  the  his  majesty,  showi  that  I 

•    limi  of  1  thai  will 

strike  them  irith  terror.     Why  should  I  k  t<> 

if  th 

the  Aim  Dm  the  period  ii  Mill  fa 

l.y  Micah  in 

in  nearly  tl.  language  .  '.\ .  6  LO, 

as,  th  1  of  the  restoration  of  the  Israelii 

of  the  Lord's  beginning  to  reign  oter  them  in  II 
ZioD  for  ever  and  ever.    ••  Iii  thai  kith  the 

!.  will  I  assemble  her  that  halteth,  and  I  will 
r  hi  r  thai  is  driven  out,  and  her  that  I  fa 
afflicted  :  and  I  will  make  her  that  halted  a  remnant, 
and  her  that  w  ;  (he 

I. 

forth  even  for  ewer.    And  thou,  o  tower  lock, 

daughl  a,  onto  thee  .-hall 

it  oi  o  the  fij  inion  ;  the  k'  -hall 

como  to  the  daughter  uf  Zion."    This  renders  it  in- 
disputable that  the  last  days,  when  all  nati«>. 
.  the  Lord  at  Mount  Z 
I  \  ent,  when  1. 

i-  hia  n  ign  there  for  ever  an  the 

peril  d  \>  hen  he  id  I  \  e  the  dominion  of 

nter  on  it  as  bis  everlasting  kingdom,  is 
■  -  defined  in  Danii  1.  as  that  of  his  coming  in 
the  i  :  I  j  Zechariah 


CHRIST  is  TO  RHGU  in  P1BSOB  08  tiii:  k.wtii. 

descending  on  the  Mount  of  Olives,  and  delivering 
his  people  from  the  hostile  nations  ;  and  by  John,  in 
the  Apocalypse,  as  that  of  the  seventh  trumpet,  when 
tho  kingdom  of  the  world  is  to  become  his,  and  the 
time  of  the  dead  arrives  that  ho  should  judge  and  give 
the  reward  to  his  servants  tho  prophets,  and  the 
saints  and  all  that  fear  his  name, both  small  and  great. 
and  reign  for  ever  and  ever.  Christ  is  not  to  com- 
menee  his  everlasting  reign  on  tho  earth  antecedent- 
ly to  his  receiving  it  at  his  coming  in  the  clouds,  ae 
his  everlasting  kingdom,  that  is  not  to  pass  away  or 
be  d  !.  Dan.  vii.  14.     How  can  it  be  then  given 

him  as  an  everlasting  kingdom,  if  it  is  as  much  his  be- 
fore as  it  will  be  made  his  by  that  gift  ;  and  if  he  is 
to  reign  over  it  as  much,  and  in  the  same  manner  be- 
fore, as  he  will  after  that  reception  of  it  as  his?  These 
prophecies  thus  not  only  present  no  intimation  that 
the  eon  version  of  the  nations  is  to  take  place  before 
Christ's  coming,  but  they  define  its  period  by  the 
most  indubitable  marks,  as  that  of  his  coming  in 
power  and  glory  to  judge  the  nations,  redeem  his 
people,  and  commence  his  reign,  which  is  to  continue 
for  ever. 

An  attempt  is  often  made,  however,  to  get  rid  of 
this  great  feature  of  these  prophecies,  by  the  pretext 
that  they  are  altogether  figurative  ;  that  the  Lord's 
house,  Zion,  and  Jerusalem,  are  only  representatives 
of  the  Christian  church  ;  the  going  of  the  nations 
there  to  worship,  representative  of  the  accession  of 
the  Gentiles  to  that  church  ;  and  the  glory  of  the 


26  1      CHRIST  IB  TO 

majesty  of  the  Lord,  from  which  men  are 
to  hide  themselves,  the  moral  glory  of  his  admini 
tion ;  thai  all,  therefore,  thai  it  meant  is,  thai  the 
Gentiles  are  to  be  Christianized  and  enter  the  church ; 
and  thai  God  is  to  display  the  glory  of  his  perfections 
in  his  administration  overmen.     Bnt  this, in  the 
place,  is  wholly  arbitrary  and  absurd.    There  ie 

•  e  by  which  tin'  prophecy  can  be  rej 
in  thai    manner  ;   the  whole  pretext   is  groundless 
:tn<l  contradictory  to  the  laws  of  the  hypoa 
and  allegory,  the  only  figures  in  which  things  of  one 
kind  are  uaed- as  representatives  of  things  of  another. 
Next,  it  makes  the  prophecy  a  Benseless  jumble  of  in- 
congruities and  contradictions,     if  the  Lord1 
as  authors  placing  this  construction  on  the  prediction 
maintain,  signifies   the   Christian  church,  and   that 
church  comprises  all  cations,  whal  is  meanl  by  all 
nations  flowing  onto  it.  and  gou  -  rship  in  it '! 

Can  any  aonsense  be  grosser  than  to  talk  of  nations 
going  />>  themselves  as  a  bouse,  and  worshipping 
themselves  as  such?     If.  moreover,  the  Lord's  h 
is  a  mere  representative,  musl  not  the  nations  that 
go  there  to  worship  be  representatives  also?     Bui  if 

i  f  what  ?  Nbl  of  themselves,  certainly.  That 
would  be  to  make  the  prediction  literal  instead  of 
representative;  for,  if  the  Gentiles  denote  them»  I 
why  i<  no1  the  house  representative  of  the  house  : 
and  their  going  np  to  the  Lord1 
tive  of  their  really  going  there  ;  and  the  whole  pro- 
phecy Literal  e  ?     But,  if  no1  thus 


literal,  1  >  1 1 1  representative  of  things  different  from  the 
honse,  Zion,  Jerusalem,  and  going  there — which  it 
must  be,  if  figurative — then  the  nations,  also,  must 
represent  some  other  order  of  beings  than  them- 
selves ;  ami  their  going  to  Jerusalem,  as  representa- 
tives, to  worship,  cannot  denote  their  own  conversion, 
but  only  the  Christianization  of  the  agents  whom 
they  represent.  This  construction,  therefore,  de- 
feats itself,  and  excludes  from  the  prophecy  the  very 
signification  which  it  attempts  to  fasten  on  it  ;  and 
turns  it  into  a  prediction  that  some  other  order  of 
beings  besides  mankind  are  to  go  to  worship  God  at 
the  place  signified  by  Jerusalem.  On  the  same  prin- 
ciple, the  idols  that  are  to  be  cast  to  the  moles  and 
the  hats,  the  caverns  of  the  earth  and  the  clefts  of 
the  rocks  to  which  men  flee  to  hide  themselves  from 
the  glory  of  God's  visible  majesty,  and  that  awe-in- 
spiring majesty  itself,  are  mere  representatives,  and 
the  whole  prophecy  is  thus  made  to  refer  not  only  to 
a  different  order  of  beings  from  mankind,  but  a  differ- 
ent world  from  our  earth,  and  to  the  majesty  of  a  dif- 
ferent deity  from  our  Jehovah  :  and  is  thus  made  a 
IS  and  impious  mockery  of  both  him  and  man. 
What  more  preposterous  notion  can  be  conceived, 
than  that  the  moral  majesty  of  God  displayed  in  his 
ordinary  administration  of  the  world,  should  strike 
Christianized  and  converted  nations  with  such  dread 
and  terror,  as  to  had  them  to  flee  to  caverns  and  dens 
to  hide  themselves  from  it?  Is  it  with  terror  in- 
1  of  adoration — is  it  with  fright  and  despair,  that 


I  ki.KN  i\  PBB80B1  OB  THE  i:\i:rn. 

the  glory  of  G         perfections  and  .-way  impr< 
bis  children?     B  bow  would  b  retread  to  the 

clefts  of  the  rooks  and  the  tops  of  the  ragged  rocks 
serve  to  hide  thai  glory  from  their  perception ?  it 
the  majesty  thai  is  to  awe  and  overwhelm  them  is  to 
be  discerned  by  the  intellect  simply.  u«»t  by  the  out- 
ward eye,  will  it  not  be  as  perceptible  in  the  gloom 
!i«l  in  the  darkness  of  midnight,  as  in  the 
glare  of  noonday  ? 

Bncb  arc  the  open  contradictions  to  the  plain  teach- 
ings of  the  prophecy,  Buch  the  repulsive  absurdities 
in  which  they  involve  themselves  who  attempt  to  in- 
it  with  a  figurative  meaning,  by  treating  il 
representative  of  objects,  persons,  and  acts  of  a  di£ 
ferent  das-  from  those  which  its  language  denol 

Another  passage  frequently  alleged  as  Bhowing  the 

conversion  of  the  nations  under  the  present  system 

.cans,  and  anterior  to  the  coming  of  Christ,  is  the 

prediction,  Isaiah  xi.  (.» :  M  Fur  the  earth  shall  be  full 

of  the  knowledge  of  the  Lord,  as  the  a 

"    But  this  declaration,  taken  by  itself  d 
not  present  any  indication  when  the  event  it  an- 
nounces is  to  occur.    To  assume  from  the  mere  lan- 
guage that    it    is   t<>   DC   accomplished  antecedently  to 

Christ's  advent,  is  to  take  Ear  granted  the  point  it  is 
employed  t"  demonstrate.    Nor  is  there  anything  in 

the  context    that    indicate-    that    that  Universal  diil'u- 

sion  of  the  knowledge  of  the  Lord  is  t<>  take  pi 
under  the  present  dispensation,  and  be  the  result 
is  in.  who  thus  misapply  tb 


CHRIST  IS  TO  REIGN  IN  PERSON  ON  THE  EARTH.     257 

tion,  of  missions  and  other  agencies,  like  those  now 
employed  by  the  church  to  communicate  the  gospel 
to  the  heathen.  Instead,  it  is  shown  in  the  clearest 
manner,  that  its  period  is  to  ho  that  of  the  reign  of 
the  Messiah,  and  tho  redemption  of  Israel.  Thus  it 
is  to  bo  at  tho  period  when  "a  rod  out  of  the  stem  of 
Jesso  shall  judge  the  poor  with  righteousness,  and 
reprove  with  equity  the  meek  of  tho  earth  ;  with  the 
rod  of  his  mouth,  and  with  the  breath  of  his  lips, 
shall  he  slay  the  wicked  ;"  and  that,  we  are  shown  in 
tho  Apocalypse,  is  to  be  at  his  second  coming,  as  the 
King  of  kings  and  Lord  of  lords.  In  tho  vision  of  his 
descent  to  the  great  battle,  in  which  the  beast  and 
false  prophet  wero  destroyed,  out  of  his  mouth  went 
a  sharp  sword,  that  with  it  he  should  smite  the  na- 
tions ;  and  the  remnant  of  the  armies  of  his  enemies 
were  slain  with  it ;  and  it  is  declared  that  ho  is  to 
rule  the  nations  with  a  rod  of  iron,  Rev.  xix.  15-21. 
It  is  to  bo  at  tho  time,  also,  when  "  the  wolf  shall 
dwell  with  the  lamb,  and  the  leopard  shall  lie  down 
with  tho  kid  ;  and  tho  calf,  and  the  young  lion,  and 
the  fading  together,  and  a  little  child  shall  lead  them," 
v.  (>.  But  that,  we  are  taught,  Isaiah  lxv,  is  to  be 
after  the  creation  of  the  new  heavens  and  earth  ;  and 
that  we  learn — Isaiah  lxvi.  15, 16,  and  Rev.  xxi.  1,  9 — 
is  to  follow  Christ's  coming  in  tho  clouds  of  heaven 
with  fire  and  chariots  like  a  whirlwind,  to  render  his 
anger  to  his  enemies  with  fury,  and  his  rebuke  with 
flames  of  fire.  It  is  also  to  be  at  the  period  of  the 
restoration  of  the  Israelites,  which,  it  is  foreshown  in 


III. 

,  prophi  I 

and  the  commencement  of  1>  Mid  it  is 

licated  here  thai  h<-  is  then  visibly  t«> 
reveal  himself  in  his  glorj  to  the  nations.  "  And  in 
thai  daj  there  Bhal]  be  a  roo1 

I  for  an  ■  lpL  :  onto  him  Bhall 

ek,  ami  his  rest91 — t  i  of  his 

throm — '•  shall  be  glori 
thus  to  I  mally  present  in  the  glory  of  his 

.  [saiah  ii.  19,21  ;  lw.  IT  25;  lwi. 
I."  28;  Z    ':.  xi\.  1.  «.».  16,  21  :  for  how  can  In-  stand 
for  an  ensign — a  visible  Bignal  like  a  banner  waving 
in  tin-  sky—  like  a  beacon  flaming  on  a  monntain 
— ii'  In-  is  no  more  visibly  present  than  In-  no* 
Bow  *  - ;  1 1 1  hi-  residence,  his  thron  i  the 

3  of  the  Gentiles  who  &eek  onto  him,  it'  do  rach 
\  isible,  if  do  external  glory  indi< 
.'     To  deny  that  this  is  the  meai 
of  tl  o,  and  attempt  to  make  it  re] 

ia  Dot  only  to  divest  it  of  its  trne  import,  bnt  i 
make  it   the  vehicle  of  a  and  m 

hood!     Forifth    B    leemer,  his  standing  for  an 
jii.  ami  the  glory  of  his  abode  <>r  ] 
6  representativi  a  mething  different    from 

themselves;  then, in  the  first  place,  the  Savionr  i- 
oxclnded  from  that  which  i<  predicted,  and  he  i 
n-»  place  in  the  mown  :  ami  i 

and  the  Israelites,  and  the 
affirmed  ofthem,  mnst 

■   from  themg  prophe< 


CHRIST  m  TO  RBIGN  IX  PERSON  ON  THE  EARTH.     259 

to  have  any  relation  to  the  inhabitants  of  this  world, 
and  to  the  world  itself,  and  some  other  Bphere  and 
some  other  order  of  beings  are  its  subjects  I  There 
is  no  from  this  monstrous  perversion  of  the 

prophecy,  bul  by  rejecting  the  ootion  that  it  is  re- 
presentative (gol  up  for  the  very  purpose  of  ascrib- 
ing to  it  a  meaning  to  suit  tin-  fancy  of  the  interpre- 
ter),  and  receiving  it  in  its  Bimple  character,  as  a  lan- 
guage prediction  thai  is  to  be  understood  accord  ing 
to  tin1  usual  and  established  laws  of  speech.  And, 
interpreted  by  those  laws,  it  presents  indisputable 
indications  thai  the  period  when  the  knowledge  of 
the  Lord  is  to  fill  the  whole  earth  as  the  waters  cover 
the  sea.  is  the  period  when  the  Sou  of  God  shall  come 
in  person  and -lory,  reveal  himself  to,  the  nations,  and 
enter  on  his  visible  millennial  reign  ;  when  the  earth 
and  the  atmosphere  are  to  be  renovated,  the  animal- 
are  to  be  divested  of  their  ferocious  and  noxious  na- 
tures, and  all  mankind  are  to  be  renewed,  and  become 
willing  and  joyous  subjects  of  Christ's  sceptre. 

Another  j  alleged  to  prove  that  the  world 

is  to  become  Christ's  anterior  to  bis  coming,  is  the 
promise  in  the  Becond  Psalm,  "Ask  of  me,  and  I  Bhall 
give  thee  the  heathen  for  thine  inheritance,  and  the 
most  parts  of  the  earth  tor  thy  possession."  But 
there  i^  no  intimation  in  this  promise,  nor  in  the  con- 
text, that  he  is  to  receive  the  gift  anterior  to  his  ad- 
vent and  assumption  of  the  sceptre  of  the  earth.  On 
contrary,  that  Psalm  expressly  >ho\vs  that  the 
period  when  the  nations  are  to  become  his  inherit- 


.TIT. 

hat  of  I  hill 

of  Hon  :  an<l  ti  _■  in  the 

clou  I  traction  <>f  • 

the  dominion  of  the  earth.   Thus,  at  the  time  at  whi<  h 

ii  to  1"-  constituted  king,  the  nation 
gathered  together  to  intercept  him  from  hifl  thi 
and  exempt  themselves  from  bis  dominion:  uf\ 
kings  of  the  earth  Bet  thi  ,  ami  the  rnl 

ooonse]  together  against  the  Lord,  and  against 
Ohri  ig,  Let  ns  break  their  bands  asnn 

cast  their  cords  from  os,w  v.  •_,  :;.    X  iracy  ii 

that  of  the  great  battle,  doubtless,  Bymbolis 
a  xix«  11— 21,  and  that  foreshown  Iso  /■ 
•i  Christ  is  1  '1  from  heaven  and 

the  hostile  !  He  that  aitteth  in  I 

shall  laugh,  the  Lord  Bhall  have  them  in  derision. 
Then  shall  h<  onto  them  in  hifl  wrath. 

them  in  hifl  Bore  displ  .     V 

upon  my  holy  hill  of  Zi  >n.     I  will  declare  th< 

The    Lord   hath  Bflid   mil  N  art  l  this 

day  have  1  begotten  thee; 

thee  the  heathen  for  thine  inheritance,  and  the  ul 

most  parts  of  the  earth  for  thj  don.    Thou  shalt 

break  them  with  a  rod  of  iron  ;  thou  shalt  dash  them 

like  a]...:  neVv.4-9.     It  is  thus  clearly  tan 

that  the  time  when  the  inheritance  of  the  heathen 

and  most  distant  part-  of  the  earth  ar 

him.  is  the  time  when  he  ifl  I  iblished 

:  and  that  we  know  from  Isaiah,  D 
/.      .  iriah,  i-  to  be  at  hifl  coming  in  the  cloud 


CHKIst  is  TO  REIGN  ,  ;  ON  nit:  BABTH.     201 

heaven,  and  receiving  from  the  Ancient  of  days  the 

dominion  of  the  earth,  thai  all  people,  nations.  and 
tongues  should  serve  him  ;  and  from  the  Revelation, 
that  it  is  to  I"-  at  the  Beventh  trumpet,  when  the 
kingdom  of  this  world  is  to  become  his,  and  he  is  to 
reign  over  it  for  ever  and  ever  ;  and  it  is  then  that 
he  is  to  break  them  with  a  rod  of  iron,  and  dash  them 
as  a  ]>  'iter's  vessel.  Rev.  xix.  15.  The  Psalm,  thus, 
instead  of  indicating  that  the  nations  are  to  be  con- 
verted before  Christ's  coming,  teaches  as  in  the  clear- 
manner,  that  it  is  not  till  he  comes  in  power  and 
glory,  and  assumes  the  dominion  of  the  earth,  that  he 
is  to  conquer  the  hosts  that  are  arrayed  against  him, 
and  bring  all  the  tribes  and  nations  that  survive  his 
avenging  judgments  into  obedience  to  his  gracious 
sway. 

In  like  manner,  the  song  of  Moses,  the  servant  of 
God,  and  the  song  of  the  Lamb,  M  Great  and  marvel- 
lous are  thy  works,  Lord  God  Almighty  :  just  and 
true  are  thy  ways,  thou  king  of  saints.  Who  shall 
not  fear,  O  Lord,  and  glorify  thy  name  ;  for  thou  only 
art  holy  ;  for  all  the  nations  shall  come  and  worship 
use  thy  judgments  have  been  made 
manifest."  Rev.  xv.  3-4,  are  often  cited  as  showing 
that  all  nations  are  to  be  converted  under  the  present 
administration,  anterior  to  Christ's  coming.  The 
song,  however,  contains  no  intimation  that  the  reno- 
vation of  the  nations  is  to  precede  his  advent.  On 
the  contrary,  the  passage  shows  in  the  clearest  man- 
ner that  the  judgments,  in  consequence  of  which  they 


.III. 

I  rship  him,  arc  I 

Is  immediately  before  hi- 
i;illv  tl  •  th  trumpet,  under  which 

in  the  clouds,  dest  roy  1 1 1  *  -  \\  ild  beast  and  false 
phet,  and  establish  his  millennia]  throne  on  the 
•  It. 

Tl.  other  pi  w  bich  foreshow  that 

whole  world  is  at  length  to  become  Bubject  tu  Jiis 
.  and  rejoice  in  hi-  dominion,  ma  \<\  i. 

ami  xcvii  :  but  they  all.  it*  they  indicate  the  period 
when  it  is  t«»  take  place,  show  in  the  plainest  manner 
that  it  is  wh<  ii  In-  comes  t<>  judge  the  earth,  and  t«» 
d  over  it  as  its  king.  Not  a  solitary  prediction 
represents  the  renovation  of  the  nati  precede 

.  dvent. 
Thi  futurity,  then,  i-  presented  t"  as  in  the 

and  most  impressh e  manner  en  th. 

lit  in  every  variety  of  form  that  could 
contribute  t"  give  it  certainty,  and  preclude  the  no- 
tion that  the  conversion  of  the  world  La  I  lace 
under  th              I  administration,  and  precede  Chi 

ad  coming.     It   is  I  the  whole  pro- 

phetic  word  on  tin*  subject,  that  the  civil  ami  ecclesi- 
astical enemies  of  Christ  1  corrupt 

of  the  nations,  denoted  by  th< 

and    the    systems  of  idol  worship,  are  to   continue    in 

the  predominance  to  the  end  of  the  present  age  :  that 

at  th 

of  being  victors  mid  reigning  in  per- 

.I'd  and  slaughtered,  down  to  the  time  in  v. 


CHRIST  is  TO  BEIGN  IX  PERSON  ON  THE  EARTH. 

their  persecutors  are  to  be  arraigned  al  the  tribunal 
of  the  Ancienl  of  days,  and  consigned  to  destruction  j 
thai  at  the  period  of  their  destruction,  tin-  Son  of 
Man  i^  to  come  in  the  clouds  of  heaven,  receive  tho 
dominion  of  the  earth,  and  enteT  on  a  reign  over  it  in 

-mi  as  its  king,  and  exercise  an  administration 
very  unlike  that  of  the  present  age  :  ami  that  it  is 
under  his  reign  in  person  over  tin-  world,  that  all  na- 
tion^ are  :■>  be  brought  to  obedience  to  his  sceptre. 
The  time  and  the  great  attendants  of  their  renovation, 
are  thus  placed  as  absolutely  beyond  doubt,  as  they 
can  he  by  any  revelation  that  could  have  been  given 
of  them.  Its  epoch  is  woven  into  the  whole  web  of 
the  prophecies  respecting  Christ's  kingdom.  There 
is  not  one  of  the  predictions  of  his  Millennial  or  ever- 
lasting reign  over  the  world  in  which  it  is  not  a  con- 
>]>ieiinus  element.  And  there  are  no  countervailing 
predictions  ;  there  is  not  a  syllable  in  the  sacred  word 
that  is  not  in  harmony  witli  them. 

Let  us  receive  it,  then,  with  the  awe,  the  confidence 
in  its  wisdom,  the  j<>y,  which  his  gracious  will  should 
inspire.     It  i-  the  method  of  procedure  he  has  chosen, 

rase  best  adapted  t"  the  great  ends  he  i-  pursuing, 
most  glorious  t<>  himself,  most  benignant  to  men  ;  i  j- 
Bential,  indeed,  doubtless  to  the  redemption  of  the- 
world,  and  the  just  understanding  of  it  by  tho  uni- 
Aml  to  whom  but  to  him  does  it  belong  to  de- 
termine what  the  administration  shall  be,  under  which 
the  nations  are  to  be  converted?  Are  men  wiser 
than  he  ?     Are  they  his  counsellors?     A  humble  and 


.III. 

brok<  t  will  ]  h  in 

•  of  the  mul- 
titude of  tl. 

with  white  rohei  and  palms  in  their  hai 
\  ho  ritteth  apon  the  thn 
the  Lamb."    Ii-  song  will  be  that  of  11 

and  the  Lai     .       Q 

marvel!  thy  works,  Lord  God  Aln  just 

and  true   arc    thy   w;i\  B,  tlmii    K 

nliall  in»t  fear  thee,  0  L     !.  ify  thy  name,  as 

:      'or  all  nations  shall  come  i 
jo  thy  jud 
manifest."     [ta  prayer  will  be  that  of 
who  beheld  his  coming  in   the  clouds  of  I 
'  •  «       e  quickly." 


EVENTS  THAT  ABE  TO  FOLLOW  CB       OMING.  26S 


CHAPTER    XX. 

cnmsr's  COMING. — the  first  great  events  that  are  to  follow 

IT. THE  RESURRECTION  OF  THE  HOLY  DEAD. THE  TRANSFORMA- 
TION OF  LIVING  BELIEVERS. 

At  the  moment  of  Christ's  coming,  the  earth  is  to  bo 
shrouded  in  total  darkness,  by  an  interception  of  the 
light  of  the  sun,  moon,  and  other  heavenly  orbs  :  the 
effect  of  which  will  be,  to  invest  his  approach  with  the 
utmost  conspicuity  and  resplendence.  "  Immediately 
after  the  tribulation  of  those  days  shall  the  sun  be 
darkened,  and  the  moon  shall  not  give  her  light,  and 
the  stars  shall  fall  from  heaven,  and  the  powers  of  the 
heavens  shall  be  shaken.  And  then  shall  appear  the 
Bign  of  the  Son  of  Man  in  heaven  :  and  then  shall 
all  the  tribes  of  the  earth  mourn,  and  they  shall  see 
the  Sun  of  Man  coming  in  the  clouds  of  heaven  with 
power  and  great  glory r"  Matt.  xxiv.  29,  30.  LIow 
immeasurably  will  the  spectacle  transcend  any  con- 
ception we  can  form  of  it !  In  what  dazzling  splen- 
dors will  he  be  arrayed  to  be  visible  at  such  a  distance 
i  be  beheld  at  the  same  time  by  the  inhabitants 

of  a  whole  hemisphere  !     He  is  to  be  attended  by  the 

12 


I  and  all  the  armies  of  hi 
and  myriads  of  millions;  hosts  coon  un- 

til, in  could  be  grouped  in  the  arch  of  hei 
d  bounded  by  the  i  tant  horizon 

In  what  effulgence  musl  they  be  clothed,  I 
li\  visible]     With wh 
3  will  the  spectacle  strike  the  natioi    '    Bi 

will  know  that  it  Ifl  he,  and  will  n 

of  his  coming  :  and  held  generally 

th  will  still  be,  in  the  thrall  of  idol-worship,  and 
sunk  to  the  Lowest  depths  of  moral  and  social  del 
ment,  they  will  be  taken  .  and  filled  with 

■nation. 
The  fii  *  act  he  is  to  exert  on  his  comin 

the  i  if  the  holy  dead.    "  For  the  Lord  hin 

1    from    heaven    witli   a   BDOUt,   with 

trump  i 
the  dead  in  Christ  shall  rh  I  .  L6. 

His  approach  thus  with  shout  tion  from  the 

infinite  hosts  of  his  attendants  of  power  and  wi~ 
to  recall  his  holy  deadto  life  ;  and  of  utter  won- 

der and  joy,  at  the  graci  and  beauty  of  hie 

Bign,  and  his  victory  and  triumph  over  death,  is  u 

■I  1.     BKs  hovering  armies  are  not  to  be 
silent  B]  »ne.     Thai  were  unbefitl 

the  greatness  of  the  moment.    Their  h 
swell  with  an  irrepressfl  of  the  grandeur 

his  attributes  and  purposes,  and  are  to  breathe  their 
fervid  homage  in  ascriptions  of  might,  lorn, 

and  h»ve  ;  in  bursts  of  adoration  and 


THE  RESURRECTION  OF  THE  HOLY  DEAD.  267 

demptioo  he  is  to  accomplish  for  his  saints.  What 
BD  epoch  will  it  bo  to  the  conscious  universe  !  What 
a  moment  to  the  rising  dead  1  What  a  manifestation 
will  it  present  of  Christ's  deity  j  of  the  fulness  of  his 
perfections;  and  of  his  dominion  over  his  works! 
No  other  display  of  the  beauty  of  illimitable  power 
and  knowledge,  all-perfect  goodness  and  grace,  can 
transcend  that  which  the  instant  summons  of  myriads 
and  millions  of  human  beings  from  the  ruins  of  death 
to  a  glorious  and  immortal  lite  will  form.  They  are 
to  be  raised  incorruptible  and  spiritual.  "  It  is  sown 
in  corruption  ;  it  is  raised  in  incorruption  :  it  is  sown 
in  dishonor,  it  is  raised  in  glory  ;  it  is  sown  in  weak- 
iscd  in  power  :  it  is  sown  a  natural  body, 
ir  is  raised  a  spiritual  body."  1  Corin.  xv.  42-4L 
"  Blessed  and  holy  is  he  that  hath  part  in  the  first 
resurrection  ;  on  such  the  second  death  hath  no 
power.''  Rev.  xx.  6.  By  this  nature  they  will  be 
freed  from  the  laws  of  our  present  bodies,  and  be  fit- 
ted like  the  transfigured  saints  to  ascend  into  the 
atmosphere  to  meet  the  Lord,  Thess.  iv.  17,  and  of 
passing  like  Christ,  if  need  be,  from  this  world  to 
others.  It  is  not  intimated  that  their  resurrection 
is  to  be  known  at  the  time  to  living  believers  and 
others.  It  Beems  rather  that  it  is  not.  For  a  voice 
from  a  great  multitude  proclaimed  that  "  the  marriage 
of  the  Lamb  is  come,  and  his  wife  hath  made  herself 
ready."  before  the  descent  of  the  Word  of  God  with 
his  armies  to  the  great  battle  with  the  beast  and  his 
hosts:  and  it  is  added  that  to  her  was  granted  that 


Tl: 

•  should  be  arraj  ed  in  fin 
tor  the  fine  linen  is  the  righteonsi  ints."    I 

xix.  5  •'.     This  implies,  that  ti 

I,  and  ad- 
mitted to  tb  ma  the} 

priests  in  hi  lom — which  is  symbolized  by  his 

marriaf  e  to  tfa  strnction  of  the 

by  the  wild  beasl  and  false  prophet. 

:i  saints  accordingly  clothed  in  fine  linen  and 

d  white  hoi  exhibit  Ling 

him  in  his  descenl  from  heaven  to  destroy  the  i 

mies  Bymbolized  by  the  and  bdi  armi  is,  who 

gether   in  war  i  him. 

B  r.  -\i.\.   11.     li   is  foreshown  also,  Zech.  \i. 
that  when  he  oy  the  hosts  w]. 

':       J<  rnsalem  for  the  pm  • 
prevent] 
he  is  to  bring  all  hi  with  him.    They  ar 

ititnted  fed 
Christ,  and  are  to  reign  with  him  the  thousand  3 1 
Those  offices,  and  the  beauty  and  glory  of  their  na- 
ture, indicate  thai  the  Bphere  tl.  I  1  fill  is  I 

great  dignity  and  power.     It  Is  to  I  ially 

in  this  world,  it  would  seem,  and  in  th<  the 

nati  they  ar<  a  with  Christ,  and  are — 

it  is  foreshown  in  Daniel  vii.  18  27— to  take  the  N 
dom,  and  p  g  with  him  I 

minently  suitable  thai  Christ  should 
unfold  to  them  such  a  if  activity,  in  which  tl 

lofty  powers  may  find  ample  scope  for  exertion, 


THE  CHANGE  OF  THE  LIVING  r.r.i.n;\  269 

they  may  testify  their  love  to  him,  and  joy  in  the  re- 
demption of  the  race  by  taking  a  share  in  the  instruc- 
tion and  government  of  the  crowds  thai  arc  to  come 
into  existence,  and  be  made  partakers  of  his  grace 
from  age  to  age.  They  may,  also,  not  improbably  fill 
important  offices  of  authority  and  love  to  other  orders 
of  intelligences,  and  cany  the  knowledge  of  the  work 
of  redemption,  as  it  advances  from  period  to  period, 
to  all  the  countless  worlds  that  wheel  in  the  realms 
of  space.  They  are  not  to  be  idle  spectators  of  the 
greal  scenes  Christ's  kingdom  is  to  present.  They 
are  not  to  be  debarred  from  testifying,  by  an  active 
service,  the  sincerity  of  their  allegiance,  and  the  fer- 
vor of  their  love.  A  theatre  of  activity  is  to  be 
opened  to  them  commensurate  with  the  greatness  of 
their  powers,  and  the  intimacy  of  their  union  to 
Christ ;  and  they  are  to  fill  offices  and  render  obedi- 
ences that  will  form  a  fit  expression  of  their  gratitude 
and  devotion  to  him  ;  and  carry  to  the  universe  who 
witness  their  allegiance,  indubitable  proofs  of  the 
reality  of  their  restoration  to  holiness,  and  fill  all 
hearts  with  a  sense  of  the  grandeur  of  the  redemp- 
tion Christ  accomplishes. 

The  living  believers  also  arc  at  Christ's  coming,  to 
be  freed  from  the  sentence  to  death,  and  rendered 
immortal.  "  Behold,  I  tell  you  a  mystery  :  We  shall 
not  all  Bleep,  but  we  shall  all  be  changed,  in  a  mo- 
ment, in  the  twinkling  of  an  eye,  at  the  last  trumpet. 
For  it  shall  sound,  and  the  dead  shall  be  raised  incor- 
ruptible, and  we  shall  be  changed.    For  this  corrupti- 


Til  THK  LIV1  i:s. 

ble  must  put  rruption  ;  and  th 

immortality.     And  when  this  corruptible  .-hall  i. 
}>ut  oo  incorruption,  and  this  mortal  shall  have  put 
<»n  immortality,  then  Bhall  be  brought  to  past- 
•  hat  i-  m  in*  h  is  swallowed  up  i:. 

Wh(       0  •  by  Bting  :  where,  Og  -  thy 

victory  '!"    1  Corin.  w .  51   55.    Th  I   the 

living,  i:  not  like  that  of  the 

corruptible,  hut  only  to  imm  from 

the  ad  from  th<  Their 

tranfifiguration  to  glory  is  probably  I 

B  later  }  told   that    it 

bat  they  are  _ht  op  in  th< 

■    • '..     L  !<1.     B*  -.-.  ••  afterwards" — that  is 
time  Bubsequent  to  the  resurrection  of  the  h< 

the  living  who 
gether  with  them  in  th 

the  Lord    in   the   air:  shall  01  with 

Lord,"  1   Th<  B8.    IV.    IT.  h   a   eh; 

•le  indicates  Christ  u  iplish  for 

the   livi:  11   as    the    dead  :   '"  V 

Saviour,  the  I.  i  ho  shall  cha 

vile  body,  th.it  it  may  be  fashioned  like  unto  hi- 
rious  body,  according  rking  wherehy  1 

able  even  to  subdue  all  thingfl  to  him>elf."'  Phil.  iii. 
20.  21.     i  not  declare,  1  Corin. 

_     '  :iat  the  living  an-    to  DC    ch  1  at 

moment  a-  the  dead  are  raised  in  Lncorrup- 

tion  ;  he  only  affirms  that   their  el.  take 

the  last  nth  trumpet,  which  un- 

doubtedly from  |  r  numrx 


Tin:  CHANGE  OF  THE  LIVING  BELIEF  21  I 

to  take  [dace  under  it.  \\  ill  Bound  for  i 
Nor  is  it  certain  that  all  the  living  believers  will  be 
changed  at  the  same  time.  It  ia  doI  improbable 
that  th«'  first  who  are  to  be  rendered  immortal,  are 
those  who  arc  represented  by  the  hundred  and  forty- 
four  thousand,  who  are  said  to  be  "redeemed  from 
among  men,  the  first  fruits  unto  God  and  the  Lamb," 
Rev.  xiv.  I.  That  ( .tlicrs  are  not  to  be  changed  till 
a  later  period.  Beema  indicated  by  the  prediction 
that  it  is  not  until  after  Christ  has  come,  that  he  is 
to  "send  forth  his  angels  with  a  great  sound  of  a 
trumpet,  and  they  Bhall  gather  together  his  elect 
from  the  four  winds,  from  one  end  of  heaven  to 
another,"  Matt.  xxiv.  31  :  and  that  some  who  arc  to 
be  invited  to  the  marriage  feast,  are  not  to  be  ready 
till  a  later  period.  Matt.  xxv.  1-13.  The  living  be- 
lievers are  to  be  gathered  together  before  Christ  and 
judged  also  before  they  are  to  be  admitted  to  his 
kingdom,  Matt.  xxv.  31-40.  These  transactions 
may  occupy  very  considerable  periods.  The  re- 
•  •  from  the  sentence  to  death  is  at  length — after 
the  judgments  of  the  seventh  trumpet  on  the  wicked 
have  been  executed,  to  be  extended  to  all,  at  least  all 
the  regenerated.  For  on  the  making  of  all  things 
new,  it  is  declared  "  there  shall  be  no  more  death, 
neither  sorrow,  nor  crying,  neither  shall  there  be 
any  more  pain  ;  for  the  former  things  are  pat 
away.'*  Rev.  xxi.  4.  What  momentous  changes  in 
the  condition  of  the  race !  What  a  display  they 
will  form  of  Christ's  power !  What  an  exemplifica- 
tion of  the  graciousness  of  his  purposes  ! 


272  the  i  roN  of  the  • 


('  J I  A  PT  i:  B    XXI. 

STB  THAT  ABE   IMMEDIATELY  TO  FOLLOW  CK  KING   J    THK 

DESTRUCTION    OK  THK  ANTI-CHRISTIAN  POWERS  J    THE  HINDI  N 
SATAN. 

The  next  great  act  of  the  Saviour  will  be  the 
BtractioD  of  the  civil  and  ecclesiastical  powers 
noted  by  the  wild  beast  of  ten  horns,  the  false  pro- 
phet and  their  armies.     The  monarchs  of  W<  b1 
Europe  with  other  kings  and  the  pope,  that  arc  I 
in  league  with  them,  are  at  that  time  to  I  ibled 

in  war  against  him.     Three  unclean  spirits  like  fir 
arc  to  go  out  of  the  mouth  of  the  .  and  out  of 

the  mouth  of  the  beast,  and  out  of  the  mouth  of  the 

prophet.    For  they  are  the  spirits 
working  miracles,  which  go  forth  to  the  king 
whole   inhabited  world — the  whole  Roman  emj 
rn  and  western — to  gather  them  to  the  battle 
that  great  day  of  Cud  Almighty,"  Rev.  rvi.  18,  14. 
And  tli«'  ten  horns  of  tin*  beast  in  its  last  form,  which 
are  to  receive  power  tu  kings  at  the  same  time  with 
the  bra-i.  it  is  foreshown,  u  shall  make  war  with 

.-hall  01 


THE  DESTRUCTION  OF  THE  ANTI-CHRISTIAN  POWERS.    273 

Lord  of  lords,  and  King  of  kings,"  Rev.  xvii.  12-14. 
Their  aim  is  to  be  to  prevent  the  establishment  of 
his  throne  and  kingdom  on  the  earth  ;  and  by  cap- 
turing Jerusalem,  which  is  to  be  the  metropolis  of 
the  new  Eebrew  kingdom,  and  dispersing  the  Israel- 
ites who  will  have  returned  and  re-established  them- 
selves there  ;  as  is  seen  from  Zechariah  xiv,  where  it 
is  foreshown  that  "  in  the  day  of  the  Lord  all  nations 
are  to  be  gathered  against  Jerusalem  in  battle,"  and 
are  to  take  and  sack  the  city,  carry  half  its  population 
into  captivity,  and  seem  for  the  moment  to  have 
achieved  their  object.  This  indicates  that  they  will 
understand  distinctly  that  it  is  the  teaching  of  the 
Scriptures  and  the  expectation  of  those  who  look  for 
Christ's  coming,  that  the  kingdom  of  Israel  is  again 
to  bo  established  in  Palestine,  and  that  the  Son  of 
God  is  to  reign  over  it  in  person.  Their  war  is 
therefore  to  be  directly  a  war  with  him,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  falsifying  his  word,  and  preventing  his  as- 
sumption of  the  world  as  his  empire.  It  will  be 
eminently  appropriate  therefore  that  he  should  in- 
terpose in  person,  confound  their  impious  schemes, 
and  dash  them  to  destruction.  And  he  is  to  go  forth, 
the  prophet  foreshows,  and  fight  against  those  na- 
tions, and  destroy  their  hosts  by  a  storm  of  devour- 
ing fire.  "  Their  flesh  shall  consume  away  while 
they  stand  upon  their  feet,  and  their  eyes  shall  con- 
sume away  in  their  sockets,  and  their  tongue  shall 
consume  away  in  their  mouth,"  v.  12.     That  they 

are  to  be  destroyed  by  fire  is  foreshown  also  Daniel 

12* 


vii.  0  11  :  Lsaiafa  l.wi.  15,  L6 

li    u   Indicated   also  in  tl 
great  battle  al  which  ti 

i '  The  nnclean  spirit 

gather  the  kings  of  the  earth  in  a  place  called  in 
Eebrew  tongue,  Armageddon,  the  battle  field  on  the 

:   plain  of   E  3  .ted. 

Judgi  b  v.  L9  21,  and  Josiah  was  alain,  -  Kingfl  xxiii. 
iO.    Jn  the  vision  of  the  bail  .  xix,  11  21, 

"  the  beast  was  taken  and  with  him  the  false  prophet 

that  wrought   miracles  before  him,  and  they  •.. 
alive  into  a  lake  of  fire  burning  with  brims! 

and  the   remnant   were    slain   with   the   BWOrd  which 
proceeded  from  the  m<>nth  of  him  who  Bat  upon 

Such  is  to  be  the  end  ot*  their  impious  usur- 
pation of  his  throne,  their  attempt  t"  substitute  an 
idolatrous  worship  in  place  of  his,  their  tyranny  i 

nations,  and   their   merciless   ;  and 

slaughter  of  bifi  faithful  followers  I    What  a  just  vindi- 
cation of  himself]     What  an  appropriate  retribution 

for  their  crimes  !      It  will  he  the  m08t  fearful  Bp< 

clc  of  which  the  world  is  to  be  tl.  .  till  the 

l  hour  arrives  when  the  revolterfl  after  the  I 

of  tin-  thousand  re  to  meet  a  like  destruction 

by  lire  ami  the  unholy  dead  are  to  |  |  and  re- 

ceive their  final  doom  :  and  it  will  doul  I  all 

-  who  witness  it,  or  learn  it-  occur- 

G  and  character  from  the  lip-  of  wi;  with 


THE  DESTRUCTION  OF  THE  AXTI-CI1PJSTIAN  POWERS.    275 

a  resistless  sense  of  God's  wrath  at  sinners,  and  the 
guilt  of  sin. 

And  what  a  deliverance  to  the  surviving  popula- 
tion of  the  world  !  These  usurping  powers  and  thcii 
predecessors  have  been  the  great  corrupters  of  the 
nations  of  Christendom  for  fifteen  centuries.  It  was 
they  who  intermixed  the  worship  of  saints,  angels, 
idols,  and  relics  with  the  worship  of  God  in  the 
church.  It  was  they  who  instituted  the  sacrifice  of 
the  mass,  in  place  of  Christ's  sacrifice.  It  was  they 
who  claimed  the  right  of  legislating  over  the  church 
and  Christianity  itself,  annulled  the  laws  of  Christ, 
and  substituted  a  false  and  corrupt  system  in  their 
place.  It  was  they  who  set  up  the  pope  as  Christ's 
vicar,  claimed  for  him  the  rights  and  honors  of  an 
absolute  dominion  over  the  word  of  God,  and  over 
the  church  and  the  world,  and  compelled  their  sub- 
jects in  effect  to  worship  him.  It  was  they  who  de- 
nied the  word  of  God  to  the  people,  and  held  them 
in  the  thrall  of  ignorance  and  superstition,  that  they 
might  make  them  the  instruments  of  their  avarice, 
their  sensuality,  and  their  ambition.  It  was  they 
who  persecuted  the  true  worshippers  from  age  to 
age,  and  consigned  myriads  and  millions  of  them  to 
torture  and  to  death,  for  their  allegiance  to  him! 
What  a  riddance  to  the  world  to  have  them  swept 
from  its  bosom,  never  more  to  recover  their  place 
here  ;  never  more  to  resume  their  work  of  debasing 
and  corrupting  mankind  ;  never  more  to  wreak  their 
infuriate  passions  on  the  holy !     There  will  be  no 


276  the  IMI  . 

more  corrupters  of  the  race  by  wicl 

here  will  he    DO    mOl 

:  by  false  <1        R      and  lying  miracles.     Christ 
will  be  the  only  law-  laws  will  be  uni- 

versally received  and  obeyed. 
A  aother  great  act  he  isl  the 

itntion  of  his  kingdom!  is  the  banishn 
and  Is  from  the  earth,  an 

from  their  tempting  influences.     This  is  forest 
under  the  Bymbols  of  the  binding  i  with  a 

chain   and   shutting   him   in   an   abyss.     Th      a] 

1  come  down  from  I  hav- 

ing the  key  of  the  bottomless  pit  and  a  hain 

in  his  hand.    And  he  laid  hold  on  the  dragon,  that 
old  Berpent,  which  is  the  I  >♦  \  il  and  Satan,  rnnd 

him  a  thousand 

-lint  him  up  al  upon  him.  that 

mould  deceive  tin-  nation  ill  the  thou- 

sand mould  be  fulfilled  :  and  after  that  he  I 

1  a  little  7,  x\.  1  here 

the  Bymbol  of  himself  and  all  the  fallen  an. 
demons,  w  ho  are  hifl 

and  deluding  the  nations.     His  I  and  by  a 

.1  chain,  cast  into  the  bottom]  I  shut   in 

it  by  closing  and  Bealii 

being  debarred — by  ren  and 

held  there  under  restraint. — from  access  to  mankind 
and  precluded  from  assailing  them  with  a  temj 

-hows  th 

be  delivi  1  his 


THE  IMPRISONMENT  OF  8  \T.\  \  .  277 

angels  during  the  period  denoted  by  the  thousand 
years,  and  exempted  from  all  influences  from  him  and 
his  agents,  by  which  he  now  deludes  them  and  excites 
them  to  evil.  This  will  be  a  far  greater  riddanoe 
than  their  deliverance  from  the  usurping  rulers  and 
apostate  ministers  symbolized  by  the  wild  beast  and 
false  prophet.  .We  can  form  but  very  inadequate 
conceptions  of  the  vast  and  benignant  change  it  will 
cause  in  the  condition  of  the  race.  Satan  now  reigns 
in  the  hearts  of  the  children  of  disobedience,  and 
moulds  them  to  his  will ;  and  exerts  all  his  powers  to 
disturb,  seduce,  and  drive  the  renewed  into  sin.  He 
strives  to  deceive  the  intellect,  to  inflame  the  imagi- 
nation, to  rouse  and  exacerbate  the  selfish  affections, 
and  impel  mankind  to  all  the  forms  of  sin  of  which 
they  are  capable.  The  misery  and  madness  with 
which  lie  would  smite  them,  were  it  in  his  power, 
were  exemplified  in  the  maniacs  whom  he  and  his 
legions  possessed  and  tortured  in  the  time  of  Christ's 
ministry.  He  is  the  author  and  prompter  of  all  the 
false  religions  in  the  world,  of  the  tyrannical  govern- 
ments, of  the  corrupt  principles  and  maxims  that  pre- 
vail ;  and  of  all  the  vices  of  ranks  and  communities, 
and  the  crimes  and  sins  of  individuals.  How  vast  his 
influence  i-.  is  seen  from  the  prediction  that  immedi- 
ately on  his  being  released  from  prison  at  the  close 
of  the  thousand  years,  he  is  again  to  seduce  the  nations 
and  lead  them  into  open  revolt  and  war  on  God's 
children.  He  is  especially  the  great  enemy  of  Christ's 
kingdom,  and  contriver  and  prompter  of  all  the  apos- 


I  III-   i  M  1  " 

gainst  it.     I !  kby 

his  temptations  todefeal  Chris!  .-it  thecomme 
of  his  work  :  and  si  rove  in  I !  a  the 

whelm  him  by  the-  jury  and  terror  of  hie 
i !         ited  the  •' 

scute  the  apostles  and  firsl  converts.     Be  ii 

1  false  teachers  to  misrt  |  its  doctrini 

disturb  the  church  by  dif  ad  to  obt 

every  form  the  Bpread  and  influence  of  the  truth,    tie 

cially  prompted  the  greal  apostasy  of  the  Man  of 
sin,  whose  coming  we  are  told,  is  after  the  working 
of  Satan,  with  all  power  and  signs  and  lyii 
ders,  and  with  all  deceivabh  nnright 

in  them  that  perish."   i^  These,  ii.  «.'.   l<».     A:. 
fierce  and  restless  are  hi-  assaults  on  believers,  that 
Paul  represents  each  oi  I  i  be  clothed 

in  the  whole  arm.tr  of  God,  in  order  to  I 
from  his  fiery  darts.     Ii  about  as  a  roaring 

lion,  seeking  whom  he  may  devour;  and  all  are  the 
objects  of  his  malice  ;  all  feel  the  fury  of  hit 
saull 

Into  what  silence  will  the  world  sink,  when  the 
\\hirlwiml  of  his  tempting  agency  is  arrested  in  its 
infuriate  career,  and  he  is  dashed  into  the  depths 
the  abyss,  and  it-  mass]  >hut  over  him  and 

sealed]     [nto  whal  a  calm  will  the  passions  of  men 
subside!     What  a  stupendous  deliverano  I     01  bow 

•  an  element  in  the  curse  of  revolt,  will  that 
I  I     A  suitable  when  Ch  -ses- 


tin:  imprisox.mi:.\t  OF  BATAH.  279 

sion  of  the  earth  to  redeem  ita  tribes  and  nations, 
that  Satan  Bhould  be  banished  from  his  presence,  and 
unobstructed  access  to  their  hearts  be  opened  to  the 
enlightening,  renewing,  and  sanctifying  influence  of 
the  Boly  Spirit! 


280         the  jn 


(HA  PT  i:  B    X  XII. 

TO  THAT  ARE  IMMEDIATELY  To  FOLLOW  CHRIST'S  COMING. — THE 

Ji:  the  i.ivim;  K1XI0X8. — the  rest, -ration-  OF  the 

;:ljtes. — the  EFFUSION  oe  the  holy  BPBff, 

Ahothsb  art  that  is  to  mark  the  commencement 
Christ's       -ii.  is  the  judgment  of  the  Living  nati 
11  When  the  Son  of  Man  shall  come  in  hie  and 

all  the  holy  angels  with  him,  then  shall  he  sit  upon 
throne  of  his  glory  :   And  ;  I  be 

gathered  all  nati  1  he  Bhall  » 

.  another  as  a  shepherd  divideth  his  sheep  I 
the  .  and  he  Bhall  set  the  ight 

hand,  but  the  goats  on  the  left.    Then  Bhall  I 
say  nnto  thoni  on  his  right   hand  :    C 
of  my  Father  :  inherit  the  kingdom  prepared  for  you 
from  the  foundation  of  the  world.   .   .  Then  shall  he 
say  also  unto  them  on  his  left  hand :  Depart  1 

g  fire,  prepared  for  the  devil 

and  his  angels.      And  these  Bhall  go   away   i:  • 

ng  punishment,  hut  I 
mil."  Matt.  xxv.  :;l 
Ti.  stent  are  the  living  na- 


Tin:  JUDGMENT  OF  THE  LIVING  NATION8.  2S  I 

tions  of  the  earth  al  thai  epoch:  the  term  *£  kdwi,  the 
nations  being  always  used  in  the  Scriptures  to  denote 

the  living*  population  of  the  globe  in  the  great  divi- 
sions by  which  they  are  distinguished,  as  peoples  un- 
der separate  governments,  kindreds  or  tribes  de- 
scended from  the  same  ancestor,  or  tongues,  speak- 
ing the  same  languages.  Many  hold  it  to  be  the  general 
judgment ;  but  that  is  an  error.  The  reasons  of  the 
awards  assigned  them  are  represented  to  be  their 
conduct  toward  Christ's  disciples  in  wants,  sicknesses, 
and  imprisonments  to  which  they  had  been  subjected. 
"  Come  ye  blessed  of  my  Father,  inherit  the  kingdom 
prepared  for  you  from  the  foundation  of  the  world. 
For  I  was  an  hungered,  and  ye  gave  me  meat ;  I  was 
thirsty,  and  ye  gave  me  drink  ;  I  was  a  stranger,  and 
ye  took  me  in  ;  naked,  and  ye  clothed  me  ;  I  was 
sick,  and  ye  visited  me  ;  I  was  in  prison,  and  ye  came 
unto  me.  Verily  I  say  unto  you,  Inasmuch  as  ye 
have  done  it  unto  one  of  the  least  of  these  my  breth- 
ren, ye  have  done  it  unto  me."  But  unto  them  on 
his  left  hand,  he  will  say  :  "  Inasmuch  as  ye  did  it  not 
unto  one  of  the  least  of  these  my  brethren,  ye  did  it 
not  unto  me."  This  indicates  that  the  disciples  of 
Christ  arc  immediately  before  this  judgment  to  be 
overwhelmed  with  poverty  and  suffering,  and  be  cast 
into  prison  ;  and  doubtless  in  the  persecution  that  is 
to  rage  at  Christ's  coming  ;  and  that  the  nations  are 
then  to  be  divided  into  two  great  parties,  one  of 
which  shall  take  the  side  of  Christ's  suffering  disci- 
ples, and  endeavor  to  relieve  their  necessities  and 


282         Tin. 

the  their 
persecutors,  and    n  fuse   all   aid   and   sympathy   to 
Christ's  brethren.     It   won!  thai 

:  e  then  to  be  judged,  are  th  who 

bave  acted  in  a  direct  relation  to  Christ  and  bis 
in  those  circumstances,  and  whose  oondo 
sympathizing  friends,  or  merciless  and  I 

in  index  of  their 
toward  Chri 

All  the  open  and  relentless  enemies  of  Christ 
his  kingdom  are  thus  to  be  swept  from  the  earth. 
The  restoration  of  the  Israelites  and  reorganization 
people,  is  to  take  place  soon  after  Christ's  com- 
ing.    A  portion  of  that  people  are  to  return  and  at- 
temj  Bstablish  themseh 

from  Zech.  xiv.  L,2  ad  it  i-  I 

the  aim  of  the  nations  in  assailing  them  to  disj 
them  again,  and  prevent  th< 
tiah  kingdom  there,  conformably  to  the  prediction* 
the  prophets.    The  chief  re-gathering  of  Jhat  nation 
however,  and  reorganization 

take  place  after  Christ's  advent  and  destruction 
of  Ins  and   their  em  ter  lie  1. 

with  fire  and  with  his  chariots  like  a  whirlwind,  to 
render  hi  with  fury,  and  his  rebuke  with  flai 

of  fire,  that  he  is  to  gather  all  nations  and  I 
and  they  .-hall  come  and  Bee  his  glory  :  and 
•i  among  them,  and  Bend  those  thai 
of  them  to  the  nations  that  have  not  heard  h 
to  declare  his  glory  among  the  Gentiles  j  and  tl 


THE  RESTORATIOH  OF  THE  ISRAELII  283 

are  to  bring  all  the  Israelites  an  offering  onto  the 
Lord  out  of  all  nations  to  Jerusalem,  and  he  is  to 
take  of  them  for  priests  and  for  Levitcs  ;  and  as  the 

new  heavens  and  the  new  earth  which  he  is  to  create 
are  to  remain  before  him,  so  is  their  seed  and  their 
name  to  remain.     Isaiah  Ixvi.  15  22. 

This  will  in  every  relation  be  a  great  and  wonder- 
ful event,  and  fill  the  world  with  awe  and  joy.  Their 
regathering  from  the  four  quarters  of  the  globe  into 
which  they  are  dispersed,  division  into  the  tribes  to 
which  they  belong,  and  reunion  as  one  people  in  their 
national  land,  will  accomplish  a  long  series  of  pro- 
mises and  prophecies  respecting  them  of  the  Old  and 
New  Testament,  and  will  involve  majestic  displays  of 
God's  knowledge,  faithfulness,  and  power.  The  co- 
operation of  the  Gentiles  in  their  return,  indicates 
that  they  are  to  understand  the  purpose  of  God  in 
their  exile  and  their  restoration,  and  know  the  great 
scheme  of  his  future  reign  over  the  world.  Their  re- 
adoption  as  God's  chosen  people,  and  the  resumption 
over  them  by  Christ  of  a  theocratic  government,  will 
be  a  sublime  event  :  and  their  intimate  relations  to 
him,  and  the  offices  they  are  to  fill  as  priests  and  Le- 
vites  in  his  kingdom,  will  invest  them  with  a  high 
and  sacred  influence  over  the  nations.  What  wit- 
will  they  forever  be  of  the  truth  of  God's 
covenants  and  promises!  What  monuments  of  his 
grace  and  faithfulness  !  With  what  a  dazzling  glory 
will  his  justice  shine  in  the  records  of  their  lineage! 
Who  will  ever  doubt  that   their  redemption  is  the 


'->  1  m  ;:it. 

work  of  !  ad  t  hat  the  wisdom, 

truth,  ami  right*  wholly  I 

Thai  in  their  rebellion  and  a] 

three  thousand  and  five  hundred 
of  the  most  awful  exemplification* 
of  what  man  ifl.    Their  restoration  to  holii 
elevation  from  the  physical  degradati<  hich 

they  bave  sunk,  to  the  dignity  and  1 

will  form  one  of  ti. 
which  the  earth  is  to  be  the  grandeur 

•  kni'a  thoughts  ami  purposes  of  love  in  the  work 
of  redemption. 

And  finally,  Q    lis  then  to  pour  out  his  Spirit  in 
effusions  immeasurably  transcending  any  which  his 
people  bave  hitherto  enjoyed.    u  And  it  shall  i 
to  pass  afterwards,  I  will  pour  out  my  Spirit  upon  all 
flesh,  an<l  your  Bona  and  your  d 
phesy,  your  old  men  shall  dream  dreai  your 

young  men  shall  see  \  i 

!  upon  the  handmaids  in  thot  I  will 

pour  out  my  Spirit."    This  is  to  I 
and  terrible  day  of  the  Lord/'  when  fhis 

coming,  "wonders  are  to  appear  in  the  I 

in  the  earth,  blood  and  lire,  and  pillai 

bud  shall  be  turned  into  darkness,  and  the  moon  i u t - » 

bl 1."    And  he  is  at  Length  to  appear  for  tic 

li\  nance  of  those  in  Zion  who  call  <>n  his  nam*  . 
ii.   -J-  22;  Zechariah  riv.  1   11.     The  influei 

the  Bpiril  arc  tl 

of  l.oth  ;  all  ranks,  and  endow  them  with 


THE  EFFUSIOH  01  THE  SPIBIT. 

prophetic  gifts  as  weU  as  renew  and  sanctify  them  ; 
and  they  arc  all  to  be  filled  with  the  knowledge  of 
him,  and  all  have  his  law  written  on  their  hearts. 
"This  is  the  covenant  1  will  make  with  the  house,  of 
Israel:  after  those  days" — the  days  of  their  disper- 
sion— "  saith  the  Lord,  1  will  put  my  law  in  their  in- 
ward parts,  and  write  it  in  their  hearts,  and  will  be 
their  God  :  and  they  shall  bo  my  people.  And  they 
shall  teach  no  more  every  man  his  neighbor,  and 
every  man  his  brother.  Baying,  Know  the  Lord;  for 
they  shall  all  know  me,  from  the  least  to  the  great- 
est of  them,  Baith  the  Lord  ;  for  1  will  forgive  their 
iniquity,  and  I  will  remember  their  sin  no  more." 
Jerem.  \.\xi.  32-34.  The  measures  in  which  they 
are  to  bo  crowned  with  the  gifts  of  the  Spirit,  ai 
much  to  surpass  those  which  men  now  enjoy,  as  the 
blessings  of  their  external  condition  are.  The  dis- 
pensation Christ  is  to  institute,  is  then  to  be  suited 
in  all  its  relations  to  the  redemption  of  mankind  from 
the  sway  and  enrse  of  sin,  and  elevate  them  to  the 
rectitude,  the  intelligence,  the  dignity,  and  tin'  bless- 
edness that  befit  a  race  restored  from  revolt,  and 
n  to  dwell  under  the  direet  rule,  and  to  enjoy  tho 
immediate  presence  and  smile  of  the  Divine  Re- 
deemer. 


iN  OF  II" 


(HA  I'T  i:  B    X  X  I  1  J. 
ra  that  a:.  llow  cii  the 

n    i  REATION  OF  T1IK  HI W  ENS  AND  EARTH.       THE  EARTH  U 
TO   DK  ANNIHII.ATr.K   BY  A  CONITJj 

Christ  ia  thru  by  a  new  creation,  I 
and  earth  from  the  curse  with  which  they  w< 
ten  by  the  fall,  to  a  condition  much  like  that  probably 
in  which  they  originally  existed,  and  fitting  then 
be  i  be  b<  ■  ae  of  his  reign,  and  the  r<  -  holy 

and  immortal  b<  ings.     That  this  restitution  or  b 
formation  of  them  ia  to  be  wroii 

is  Been  from  2  Peter  iii.  7   13,  where  it  is  shown 
that  it  is  to  take  place  immediately  after  the  firii  e 
the  earth  and  atmosphere  at  hia  advent,  by  which 
the  ungodly  are  to  be  d<  I,  and  that  it  is  I 

that    new    creation    which    is  promised  I-aiah  l.w.   IT. 

■  the  restoration  of  the  Israelites  to  their  national 
land.    ••  We  according  to    his  promise  the 

heavens  and  b  rth. 

wherein  dwelleth  righteousness  :"  and  thai  ia  the  pro- 
mise of  their  new  creation  at  the  recall  of  th<    I 

doption       I  ,  Isaiah  lxv.  17 


nil:  \i:\v  CREATION  OF  THE  HEAVENS    LND  EARTH.    287 

25,  when  the  curse  on  the  earth  is  to  be  repealed. 
"  For  behold,  I  create  new  heavens,  and  a  new  earth, 
and  the  former  shall  nol  -be  remembered  nor  come 
into  mind.  But  be  ye  glad  and  rejoice  for  ever  in 
that  which  I  create  :  for  behold  I  create  Jerusalem  a 
rejoicing,  and  her  people  a  joy,  and  I  will  rejoice  in 
Jerusalem,  and  joy  in  my  people,  ;  and  the  voice  of 
weeping  shall  be  no  more  heard  in  her.  nor  me  voice 
of  crying.  There  shall  l>c  no  more  thence  an  infant 
of  days,  aor  an  old  man  that  hath  not  filled  his  days  : 
for  the  child  an  hundred  years  old  shall  die  :  and  tlio 
sinner  an  hundred  years  old  shall  be  accursed."  This 
indicates  that  the  change  to  be  wrought  is  Buch,  that 
the  race  will  he  restored  to  a  vigor  of  life  like  that 
of  its  primitive  inhabitants  :  so  that  infancy  shall  not 
be  confined,  as  n<>w,  to  a  short  period,  nor  the  season 
of  maturity  pass  prematurely  into  the  decrepitude  of 
old  age.  The  expression,  "  the  child  an  hundred  years 
old  shall  die  ;"  is  perhaps  hypothetical,  and  means 
that  should  a  child  die,  it  might  die  a  hundred  years 
old  ;  but  a  sinner  of  that  age  would  be  accursed,  or 
reprobate  ;  and  therefore  that  the  supposition  that 
he  Bhould  exist  is  inc. insistent  with  the  righteousness 
and  bliss  that  are  to  reign  in  the  new  earth  :  as  in  the 

parallel  passage,  Rev.  \\i.  -1.  it  is  expressly  foreshown 
that  after  the  descent  of  the  \  ■  .-.  J  ■rusalem.  there  is 
not  to  he  any  more  death.  "And  God  shall  wipe 
away  all  tears  from  their  eyes  :  and  there  Bhall  be  no 
more  death,  neither  sorrow,  nor  crying,  neither  shall 
there  be  any  more  pain  :  for  the  former  things 


;.\i:th. 

I  that  tli' 
ruaalem  ia  to  take  place  at  the  marriage  Biippx 
I.  after  the  destruction 

the  prophets  falling  down  to  worship  tl 
which,  though  narrated  by  him  I  ..  1", 

1X11. 

it  took  place  «'ii  the  proclamation  from  thai 

the  marriage  of  the  Lamb  had  come,  chap.  six.  LO, 

.  ision  of  the  destruction  of  the  wild-b< 
it  indicates,  in  conformity  with  the  prediction  of  Isa- 
iah and  Peter,  thai  the  creation  of  the  i 
and  i  isen  saints  ia  to  take  plac 

period  soon  after  Christ  comes.    The  earth  is  thus 
to  be  prepared  by  its  new  creation  for  tl 
mankind  in  their  rei 

ingdom  and  visible  reign.     "  The  wil 
and  the  solitary  place  Bhall  be  glad  ;  and  th< 

shall    rejoio  hall 

blossom  abundantly  and  rej 

ing  :  the  glory  of  Lebanon  shall 
the  excellent  I     rmel  and  Sharon  :  they  BhaU 

the  glory  of  the  Lord, — the  excellency  v\'  on 
b  1 1  \ .  1 .  2. 
It  is  generally  maintained  indeed  by  Anti-mill 
rians  that  the  earth  is  to  be  annihi 
coming.    That  belief  is  founded  on  the  predict! 

L3.    Th(  uich 

i>  there  foreshown,  is  to  destroy  tl 

ihilate  the  earth,  as  is  Been  from  the  follow 
translation  and  exposition. 


THE  i:\i:ill  IB  NOT  TO  H  ANNIHILATED. 

-  Knowing  this  first,  that  there  shall  come  in  the 
Lost  of  the  days  mockers,  walking  according  to  their 
own  inordim  tnd  saying,  WTiere  is  the  pro- 

mise of  hi-  coming  ?  For  since  the  fathers  fell  asleep, 
all  things  continne  as  from  the  beginning  of  the  crea- 
tion. Vov  they  are  willingly  ignorant  [or  inconside- 
rate] of  this  :  that  by  the  word  of  God  tlio  Leavens 
were  of  old,  and  the  earth  standing  out  of  water  and 
in  water,  through  which  [that  is,  the  heavens  from 
which  the  rain  fejl,  and  the  land  which  w.  ssed 

beneath  the  ocean]  the  world  of  that  time  was  de- 
stroyed [that  is,  made  a  waste.]  But  the  present 
heavens  and  earth  are  by  the  same  word  treasured 
up  for  lire  ;  reserved  to  the  day  of  judgment  and  de- 
struction of  the  men  that  are  impious.  But  let  it  not 
he  unknown  to  [or  escape]  you,  beloved,  that  one 
day  is  with  the  Lord  as  a  thousand  years,  and  a  thou- 
sand years  as  one  day.  The  Lord  is  not  dilatory  re- 
tting the  promise,  as  some  count  dilatoriness  ;  but 
is  long  Buffering  toward  us;  not  desiring  that  any 
should  perish,  but  that  all  should   come  to  repent- 

••  But   the  day  of  the   Lord  will  come  as  a  thief,  in 

which  the  heavens  will  pass  with  a  rushing  noi 

and  ting  kindled  will  melt  ;  and  the 

earth  and  the  works  on  it  will  be  burned.     A.8  then 

all  these  are  (to  be)  1  K>sed   [let  loose],  what  manner 

<>1  persona  ought  ye  t«>  I  ■•  In  holy  deportment  and 

v.  looking  for  and  earnestly  awaiting-  the  coming 

of  the  day  of  God,  in  which  the  heavens  1  > e i n lc  in- 

13 


THE  WVIIIILATED. 

flamed  shall  be  !  i  ash  in  fiery  whirlwi] 

and  •  i   fired  shall  melt 

.  howei 

k  for,  in  which  right 
This  translation  gn 

'I   in   th(  .  t he 

the  an 
winds,  clouds,  and  reflected  ligfc 

] 
Koofio,  the  f    rid  of  that  1 

plj  thai  it  v.  bab- 

itabL  not  that  it  was  annihilated,  or  subjt 

to  a  total  dissolution  of  its  part-.     I 

.  inhabitable  world,  :  f  all  its 

land  beneath  th<  on  a 

quicksand  is  ed  when  it  sinks 

ad  a  houi  rthrown 

by  a  tempest,  thotigh  the  that  takes  pla 

a  mere  chang  jition,  by  which  it  is  onfitted  for 

the  purpose  for  which  it  ihi- 

Lation,  or  even  a  <li~  "1*  its  | 

tli'-  men  that  are  eminently  wicked,  the 
Impious  :  not  the  sinful  simply,  for  tin-  renewed 
Mill  sinful  :  nor  tli*-  men  unregenerate,  for  man 
them,  a'  ially  the  young,  are  not   impi 

- 
the  atm  -hall  pass  with  a  rushin 

limply  that    it    shall   rush   by  in  the  f<>rni  • 

wind,  like  a  tornado:  not  that  it  shall  be  annihilated, 


THE  EARTH  is  NOT  TO  BE  ANNIHILATED,  291 

or  vanish  into  space,  and  Leave  the  earth  in  a  vacuum. 
Tin4  Literal  meaning  of  the  verb  is,  to  pass  along  by  : 
and  that  it  is  Qsed  in  its  Literal  sense,  is  clear  from  the 
consideration  that  the  movement  which  it  denot* 
t,»  In-  piiftdov,  with  a  1< >inl  noise,  as  of  a  rushing  wind. 
1 1  is  employed,  therefore,  literally  to  signify  an 
tual  movement  of  the  atmosphere  along  the  surface 
oi'  the  earth;  not  metaphorically,  to  express  some 
analogous  change,  such  as  annihilation,  which  would 
involve  no  motion  in  space,  and  produce  no  n 
If  instead  of  being  employed  literally,  it  were  i 
by  a  metaphor  to  denote  some  change  that  merely 
resembles  a  motion  in  space,  or  the  effect  of  such  a 
movement,  such   as  a   disappearance  like  that  of  a 
body  that  by  its  motion  passes  out  of  sight,  or  a  . 
ing  to  be  ;  then  the  idea  of  motion  in  space  would 
be  dropped,  and  only  the  analogous  idea  of  ceasing 
to  be,  be  retained.     But  the  idea  of  motion  is  not 
here  dropped,  but  is  the  identical  act  which  the  verb 
describes,  as  is  seen  from  the  fact,  that  the  act  it  de- 
notes, is  to  produce  a  loud  noise,  as  of  a  rushing  wind  ; 
which  could  not  be,  except  by  a  real,  ami  a  violent 
and  agitated  movement.     Xo  terms  could  have  1 
I  that  would  have  more  absolutely  defined  the 
at  denoted  as  a  movement  of  the  air  accordii 
its  ordinary  laws,  as  in  a  whirlwind  or  tornado  ;  and 
excluded  the  idea  of  cessation  from  being  or  vanish- 
ing into  distant  space.     As  then  the  event  which  it 
denotes,  would  have  its  full  accomplishment  in  furious 
blasts  and  rushing  whirlwinds,  like  those  that  result 


verb 

to   i:.    • 

-  anphilosophical  ind 

I  radictory  to  the  lanj  I 

writer-  suppose,  the  atmosphere 
the  earth,  it  would  i  ly  by  il 

id  from  tlir  for  it  by  1 

.  ith  a  positi  ■ 
jeci  werful  attraction   from 

body  :   for   if    .-imply    ri  from   tl 

gravity,  it  would  be  tfu  i arth  ' 
the  >  that  v, 

from  the  earth.  ould  dn 

power  of  producing  Bound,  no  d 
motion  might  b  deprived  of  v. 

would  be  as  incapable  of  vibrati 
ami  even  it'  still  susceptible  of  vibr 
duce  qo  impression  on  the  ear;  as  wei  I  im- 

pulse are  necessary  to  give  motion  to  the  drum  of  the 

ite  the  sensation  of  Bound.     U  could 
e,  produce  the  loud  rushing  noise  that 

V       supposition  im- 

bued with  a  repellei  .  by  which  it  Bhould 

•  qually  incoi  with  it- 

old  i  qually  divi 
ducing   by  rture   the 

What  can  l  anphilosophi 


EARTH  I-  HOT  TO  BE  ANNIHILATED.  293 

that  the  laws  of  matter  are  thus  to  1"'  wholly  re- 
■d,  or  the  earth  and  air  invested  with  a  new  na- 
ture in  order  to  their  destruction  !     Arc  these  wril 
aware  of  the  existem  y  Buch  repellenl  for© 

the  uni\  if  transfused  into  the  atmosphen 

earth,  would  instantly  drive  them  asunder?     [s  nol 
gravity  a  property  of  all  matter,  and  is  not  its  law 
demonstrably  from  the  movements  of  the  heavenly 
bodies,  the  Bame  in  all  other  spine 
What  right  have  th  thai 

that  power  is  to  be  struck  from  the  air,  and  a  di- 
!v  opposite  pri:  substituted    in   its  place, 

in  order  that  they  may  give  a  color  of  authority  to 
their  theory  of  the  annihilation  at  that  crisis  of  the 
atmosphere,  and  the  destruction  thereby  of  all  the 
human  beings  then  dwelling  on  the  globe  ?  They 
Burely  cannot  have  considered  what  their  assumption 
involves.  But  the  supposition  of  the  atmosphi 
being  endowed  with  such  a  repellent  force,  is  equally 
I  to  their  scheme  ;  as  it  would  divest  it  of  its 
ver  of  producing  ition  of  sound  as  it   re- 

d  from  the  earth  :  for  as  it  would  then  fly  off  at 
every  point,  in  a  line  perpendicular  I  irface  of 

the  earth,  as  Boon  as  it  had  risen  above  the  ! 
men — which  would  be  as  quick  as  thought — it  would 
mi  thei  ad  be  u  of  pro- 

ducing i  of  the  rushing  noise  which  is  to  at- 

tend the  movement  that  is  predicted  in  this  ; 
}\    '.i,  moreover,  left  in  such  a  vacuum,  and  struggling 
on  the  one  hand  with  the  agonies  of  suffocation,  and 


Tin:  ■ 

on  Hi*'  other  with  the  still  gi 

pansion  of  their  bodies  and  the  effusion  of  blood  from 
nt  on  their  being  freed  from  the 
e  of  the  atmosphere,  would  have  little  Leisure 
for,  or  pi  m  er  of  gn  i  ation  to  the 

atmosphere  aa   it    receded   into   rei 

thai    its  rnsh  m  re  per* 
tible  by  the  ear.     Had  these  write  Fully 

ed  what   their  construction   involvi 
would  have  Bhrunk  from  ascribing  to  I 
Buch  a  tissue  of  impossibilities  and  absurditi     ■ 

i-   |    .  are  the  elements  or  Bimple  buI 
which  the  world  or  its  different  parts  consist.     T 
have  been  supposed  by  some  wri 
chiefly  of  the  atmosphere,  and  the  vapors  ai 
material  Bubstanoes  that  ordinarily  float  in  it.    T 
Is  no  ground,  h<  in  the  language  for  such  a 

limitation  :  and  in  v.  10  they  undoubted!  the 

inflammable  buI  -  thai  are  th< 

from  the  earth  into  the  air.  Neither  the  atmosphere 
in  fact,  nor  the  water  that  floats  in  it.  in  the  form  of 
vapor  and  clouds,  is  capable  of  fusion  by  he  t.  They 
are  naturally  fluids,  not  made  rach  in  distinction  from 
solids,  by  the  application  of  heat.  TJ 
them  of  a  high  measure  of  I  limply  to 

them  into  a  greater  volumt  :  avert  them 

thinner  fluids  ;  not  to  divest  them  of  Bolidity,  which 

to  theirnature.     Melting  is  a  pr< 
of  which  Bolide  alone  are  susceptible,     li  is  the  min- 
eral Bubstancea  of  tl 


THE  EARTH  is  NfOT  TO  BE  ANNIHILATED.  295 

that  are  to  be  ejected  into  the  atmosphere  at  the 
period,  that  are  denoted  by  oroixeia,  elementary  Bub- 
Btances,  v,  10,  thai  are  to  be  kindled  and  let  lo 

Kaveovfieva,  signifies  being  Bet  on  fire,  kindled,  put  in  a 
blaze.  The  elements  that  are  thus  to  be  enkindled 
are  doubtless  those  that  are  naturally  inflammable, 
such  as  carbon,  sulphur,  and  gases  of  which  they  or 
other  inflammable  Bubstances  are  ingredients.  AvOfj- 
covrat  is  used  in  the  sense  of  let  loose,  as  the  burning 
elements  of  a  volcano  are  when  projected  into  the  at- 
sphere,  and  driven  by  furious  Masts,  they  become 
the  means  of  assailing  and  destroying  men.  The 
verb  literally  denotes,  to  untie,  to  loosen,  to  unbind, 
to  Bet  tree  from  a  physical  restraint,  like  a  bond  or 
fetter.  It  does  not  involve  the  idea  at  all,  therefore, 
of  the  cessation  or  annihilation  of  that  which  is  let 
loose.  Instead,  it  implies  that  it  continues  in  its 
state  of  release,  and  that  if  there  has  been  any  cessa- 
tion of  existence,  it  is  of  the  bond  or  force  from  which 
i:  is  released.  In  like  manner,  a  sense  of  annihila- 
tion, or  ceasing  to  be,  is  not  involved  at  all  in  its  use 
when  employed  by  a  metaphor  to  denote  a  resem- 
bling release  of  persons  or  things  from  a  condition 
like  that  of  being  tied  or  bound  with  a  fetter  ;  as  the 
loosing  a  slave  from  bondage,  which  is  a  political 
change  ;  the  freeing  the  body  from  pain,  which  is  a 
change  of  sensation  ;  and  the  release  of  a  person 
from  death.  In  all  these  metaphorical  uses  of  the 
verb,  the  continued  existence  of  that  which  is  re- 
1        d,  and  in  its  proper  nature,  is  implied  in  its  be- 


THE 

continuity  i  imply,  do1  to  annihil 
chemicaJ  dissolul  ;  and  to  < 

down  a  building,  is  merel; 

ad  other  elements,  from  thai 
menl  and  connexion  with  each  other,  by  which  it  ia 

.  a  buildin  t  1 

of  w  bich  it  c  e  the  form  in  which  I 

• 
ill  timber,  and  all  the  other  elem 
what  t'  1 

therefore,  in  m  invob  anni- 

hilation or  absolute  destruction  of  that 

•  1 :  but,  trily  im]  tinu- 

.  Jn  this  in-' 
liify  that  the  elements  of  the  kindled  earth  are  t<>  1 
!       ■  from  ti.  by  which  thi  ituraUy  I 

in  a  condition  that    is  COmpal 

enjoyment  of  m  luid  matt 

1  into  t  b  phere,  at 

ish  upon  them  and  become  the  i 
destruction.     I  I  involi 

notion  of  their  chemical  dissoluti  annihilat 

more  than  the  ] * ». » ^ i 1 1 lt  of  tl. 

Luke  xiii.  15,  i  r  the 
u  1  at  the  k  \i.  I.  Implied 

aical  dissolution  and  annihilati 
aniii: 

lrttii  ;int  from 

clemi  of  a  different  kind  fi 


Tin:  EARTH  [6  NOT  TO  BE  ANNIHILATED.  297 

from  which  the  animals  were  released  by  antyin 
removing  their  fastenings. 

'•And  the  earth  and  the  Works  On  it  KaTweavaeTtu  shall 

be  burned."    The  earth  and  the  works  on  it  are  not 

the  same  as  the  kindled  elements  which  arc  to  be  lei 
loose,  l>ut  are  combustible  things  on  the  surface  of 

the  earth,  such  as  crops,  grass,  trees,  and  structures 
erected  by  men,  on  which  those  burning  element-. 
projected  into  the  atmosphere  and  borne  off  by  the 
winds,  will  fall,  and  kindle,  and  burn  them.  To  sup- 
pose that  the  burning  elements,  and  the  natural  and 
artificial  objects  on  the  earth  are  the  same,  would  be 
to  treat  the  passage  as  tautological.  If  the  elements, 
and  the  earth,  and  the  works  on  it,  are  the  same,  and 
the  prediction  that  the  kindled  elements  shall  be  let 
loose,  means,  as  the  common  construction  represents, 
that  they  shall  be  dissolved  and  reduced  to  a  chaos, 
or  annihilated,  why  is  it  added  that  the  earth  and  the 
works  on  it  shall  be  burned?  It  would  imply  that 
the  earth  and  the  works  on  it  are  to  continue  to  be 
the  earth  and  the  works  on  it,  and  therefore  to  con- 
tinue to  Bubsisl  in  their  natural  state,  after  they  have 
undergone  a  total  dissolution  ami  passed  out  of  exist- 
ence. Instead  of  such  a  contradictory  sense,  the  re- 
presentation of  the  passage  i-.  that  the  burning  of 
h  and  the  works  on  it  is  to  be  consequential 
on  the  letting  loose  of  the  kindled  elements.  The 
combustible  matter  with  which  the  surface  of  the 
earth  is  to  be  covered — grass,  crops,  tree-,  buildings 

— is  to  be  seton  fire  bv  the  kindled  elements  projected 

13* 


THE 

into  the  atmosphere,  an<l  burnt  tsually  i 

place  in  volcanic  erupti< 

then  all 
anloosed    [to   1" 
wh.it  manner  of  pew 

means  nol  only  the  kindled  elements  and  th< 
phere,  bn1  the  bnrning  Bubsl 
of  the  earth,  which  the  elements  falling  from  tl. 
mosphere  are  to  kindle. 
ii  - 

'I  ■  taction  l  holy 

deportment  and  piety,  is,  thai  the  01 
reference  to  men,  the  other  to  God.     I 

.  .     n  ell  as         are  governed  :  ■  i 

and  tin1  is  ;— all  these  then — the 

kindled  elements,  the  atmosph<  the  bnn 

Bubstances  od  the  Burface  of  the  oartb  thus 

to  be  anloosed  from  their  naturt  ••  in- 

struments of  destruction  to  the  impious;  how  holy 
oughl  y<»ur  deportment  to  be  towards  men,  and  your 
heart.-  towards  (J  ...l.  that  you  may  not  be  amoi 
who  are  then  to  perish  ;  and  how  ought  you  to  live 
in  t!  station  of  th>  \  of  that  day,  an  I 

alixatioii  that  the  kindled  atmosphere  is  then  I 
Lei  Loose,  and  the  burning  elements  of  the  earth  to 
melt,  and  carry  terror  and  death  to  those  who  a: 

rtainty  thai  thes 
L<  ss  In  -'  rui  Lents  oi  d<  ith  are  to  I  e 

truction  of  the  impious,  is  thus  made  the 
by  the  apostle  of  enforcing  the  duty  on  the  one  h 


THE  EARTH  is  Not  To  BE  ANNIHILATED.  299 

of  a  life  of  uprightness  towards  men,  and  piety  to- 
wards (\o>\.  and  on  the  other  of  an  habitual  looking 
for  and  earnest  contemplation  of  the  day  of  God,  as 

to  be  marked  by  those  awful  evolutions  of  the  powers 
of  nature,  and  employment  for  the  destruction  of  the 
impious  who  are  then  to  perish. 

"New  heavens,  however,  and  a  new  earth,  we,  ac- 
cording to  his  promise,  look  for,  in  which  righteous- 
ness dwells/'  and  which  therefore,  the  implication  is, 
are  never  to  be  made  engines  of  destruction,  as  men 
are  never  again  to  become  impious. 

Such  is  indubitably  the  philological  meaning  of 
this  passage  ;  the  simple,  full,  and  only  sense  it  will 
bear.  Not  a  hue  of  the  pencil,  in  the  explication 
we  have  given  of  it,  is  either  raised  above,  or  de- 
pressed below  the  color  of  the  original.  And  not  a 
trace  appears  in  it  of  the  universal  conflagration,  dis- 
solution, and  annihilation  of  the  earth  and  atmosphere, 
which  commentators  generally  have  supposed  it  to 
foreshow.  The  notion  of  such  a  catastrophe  has  no 
just  foundation  in  the  passage, and  has  sprung  entirely 
from  a  misconception  of  the  import  of  the  terms,  a 
sequent  misjudgment  of  the  phenomena  which 
they  describe,  and  a  neglect  to  consider  the  incom- 
patibility of  a  genera]  conflagration  and  dissolution 
of  all  things  with  the  descriptions  that  are  given  in 
other  parts  of  the  Bacred  word,  of  the  s:ime  event. 


800 


i  a  pt  i:  a  x  x  i  v. 

TIIK  EASTS  KOI  T<>  BE  ANNII 

Tin-:  truth  of  tl 
chapter  of  the  pro] 
still  more  apparent  by  a 

and  grounds  of  tl  itrnctionl  rdinarilyput 

wholly  i  kible 

with  the  survival 
natural  life  :  and  by  i 
BnppositioD 

Ii  results,  1.  from  th< 

of  th 

»y,  which  the 

of  commentatoi 

plain 

ration  of  th( 
univt    -   .      \  onld  1"'  : 

11  the  in.  the  jnd 

tion  i  are  in.. 


Tin:  GLOi  .  to  r:i:  annihilated.         301 

an<l  earth  are  reserved  for  fire.     Bui   how  would 
conflagration  of  the  Bun,  the  moon,  and  the  plai 
be  necessary  to  thai  destruction,  or  in  any  manner 
contribute  to  it?    And  muoh  more,  how  would  the 

lagration  of  all  the  other  as  of  worlds  that 

iill  the  boundless  realms  of  Bpace,  that  have  no  phy- 
sical connection  whatever  with  our  Bystem,  be  need- 
ful to  that  end?  Do  those  persons  suppose  the  un- 
(10  are  then  to  perish,  are  to  be  destroyed 
by  the  flames  of  the  distant  part<  of  the  unive 

it,  if  they  are  to  be  id  by  the  fires  of  the 

earth,  what   need  can  tl  of  a  more  e.\ 

conflagration?    But  the  word  ol oipavoi,  the  heav 
instead   of   the    sun,  moon,  planets,   and    the    starry 
spheres,  denotes  simply  the  atmosphere  of  the  earth  ; 
the  region  of  the  air  above  us,  in  which  "the  fowls 
of  heaven"  fly,  and  "  the  clouds  of  heaven"  float.   This 
is  clear,  not  onlyfrom  the  subject  itself  of  the  pass 
but  especially  from  the  prediction  that  olovpavoi,  the 
heavens,  shall   pass   away,  or  rush  with  a   crash,  or 
loud  noise  ;  which  Bhows  that  the  rush  or  rapid  mo- 
tion producing-  the  crashing  noise,  is  to  be  within  the 
limits  of  our  atmosphere,  inasmuch  as  it  is  only  with- 
in the  region  of  the  air  that  the  motion  of  ob; 
can  produce  a  sound.     To  suppose  that  a  rush  of  Ju- 
piter, Saturn,  ai.d   Berschel,  from  their  orl 

•<>,  would  produce  a  crash  which,  would  be  heard 
in  our  world,  is  to  assume  that  the  whole  region 
through  which  the  sound  would  i  filled  by  an 

element  susceptible  of  vibration,  like  our  atmosphere, 


302  THE  GLOBE  K 

which  is  contrary  to  fact.    No  bucIi 

in  the  space  thai  Burrounds  our  atm  .  which, 

a  been  determined  by  astr 
tends  only  to  a  heighl  of  fortj  fifty  d 

Beyond  thai  limit,  as  al  the  distance  of  the  moon  and 
plan<  lv  could  no  more  prodii  - 1  j  i  i  j  ,lt  vi- 

bration in  our  atmosphere  by  dashing  tl. 
than  it  could  by  remaining  stationary.    The  c 
trophe,  then,  which  the  prophecy  foreshows  is  un- 
questionably to  be  confined  to  our  world. 

<  i  rard  the  showing  thai 

earth  al  leasl  is  to  be  completely  consumed,  or  redn 
Inders,  and  perhaps  struck  from  existence.     T 
derive  that  impression  probably  from  tl 
in  the  common  version,  thai  u  the  earth  also,  and  the 
works  thai  are  therein,  shall  be  burned  uj»." 
house,  or  other  wooden  structure,  a  field  of 

grain,  or  any  combustible  mi  I 
up  when  it  is  completely  fired,  divesl 

tion,    and    reduced    | 

that  the  language  implies  that  the  whoL  earth  is  in 

like  manner  to  be  consumed  by  the  fire,  divested  of 

all  its  organized  structure.  averted,  al  I 

into  a  mass  of  ruins,  if  not  bw 

Bu1  this,  the  original  t  warrant.     All  thai 

verb  means  is  thai  the  earth—  that  is,  the  combustible 

things  on  its  surface,  in  the 

trophe  occurs,  shall  1  -hall  bun 

i  sample,  in  a  volcanic  explosion,  when  the  burn- 
ing lava  fires  and  consum  inflammable  obj 


THE  GLOBE  ES  NOT  TO  BE  ANNIHILATED. 

imim  diately  around,  with  which  it  comes  in  contact. 
Jn  like  manner,  when  a  violent  apheaval  and  agita- 
tion of  t  he  Bnrface  of  the  earth  in  a  particular  dial  rid 

is  produced  by  interior  tires,  the  earth,  without  limita- 
tion, is  said  to  shake  and  quake,  although  the  move- 
ment is  confined  to  a  narrow  region  and  to  its  mere 
surface.  So  also  the  earth  is  said  to  be  wrapped  in 
darkness  at  night,  although  the  darkness  is  confined 
to  one  hemisphere,  while  the  other  is  basking  in  the 
full  light  of  day.  And  it  is  predicted  that  at  the  de- 
st ruction  of  the  antichristian  hosts,  "the  mountains 
shall  be  melted  with  their  blood,'7  Isaiah  xxiv.  3  ; 
though  those  mountains  only  are  meant  which  are  to 
be  the  scene  of  their  slaughter,  and  not  all  the  moun- 
tains of  the  globe.  That  all  that  this  language  means 
is.  that  the  inflammable  matter  on  the  surface  of  the 
earth  will  be  set  on  fire  and  will  burn,  in  the  regions 
where  the  destruction  of  the  ungodly  is  to  take  place, 
is  shown  still  more  clearly  by  the  fact,  hereafter  to 
be  adduced,  that  even  the  wicked  themselves,  who 
arc  to  be  destroyed  by  the  flames,  are  not  to  be  ab- 
solutely consumed,  but  are  to  remain  in  such  a  condi- 
tion as  to  be  devoured  by  the  birds  of  the  air,  and  to 
require  a  burial. 

Others  seem  to  suppose  that  the  conflagration  in 
the  atmosphere  is  to  be  universal,  and  is  to  take 
place  at  the  same  time  over  the  whole  surface  of  the 
globe  ;  and  that  the  survivance  of  any  of  its  popula- 
tion must  therefore  be  impossible.  This  notion, 
however,  has  no  ground  whatever  in   the   p 


804 

The  prediction  is  simpl; 

be  kindled,  and  tall  rush  with 

the  whol 
phere  of  the  i  be  kindled  b  in  that 

man  w  ill  be  accomplish  d,  if  that 

takes  place  in  tl.  I be  impious,  \\ b< 

to  perish,  are  assembled.     A 

ibustible,  ami  cannol 
BtitutenJ  aade  inflammable 

plication  of  ber  chemical  fori 

rate  from  itself,  it  is  apparent  thai  the  firii 
air,  or  Glling  the  air  with  fire,  must 
if  wrought  as  it  doubtless  will  be,  by  natural  m 
— by  the  infusion  into  il 

ment,  Buch  as  an  inflammabl<  sulphur. 

The  fire  by  which  thai  combustible  element  1 
inflamed  and  i   into  the  air,  is  probably  I 

that  which  is  to  issue  from  the  thr<  Dan. 

vu.  9,  1":  the  flaming  fire  in  which  he  is  I 
vealed  when  be  cornea  to  take  s  i 
mies,  [saiah  Ixvi.  L5,  L6  .  7.  >.     It   then 

inflammable  element  is  to  be  introdn  the 

atmosphere  at  the  time — unJ  mo- 

ment, which  will  not  be  deemed  likely, 
ample  Btores  of  combustibles  exist  inl 
-    \\  hit   ia  bo  probable  as  that  it  will  be 
from  th  at  the  time, by  the  earthquakes  which 

olse  the  globe,  Zech.  liv.  1. 
1  the  firing  of  the  interior  by  the  lightni 
flashed   from  the  divine  pn  by  which  th 


GLOBE  19  Nor  TO  BE  a 

earthquakes  are  to  be  generated  and  the  mount 

i  mell  :  which,  it  is  predict 
to  take  place  al  ring  to  reign  on  the  earth? 

■•  A  G  g  eth  before  him  and  bnrneth  up  I 
mies  round  about.  His  lightnings  enlightened  the 
world  ;  the  earth  Baw  and  trembled.  The  hills  melt- 
ed Like  wax  at  the  |  the  Lord,  al  the  pre- 
rd  of  the  whole  earth."  But  if  that 
is  id  be  the  source  of  the  inflammable  materials  with 
which  the  atmosphere  is  to  be  kindled,  and  the  fusion 
of  the  earthy  matter  on  which  the  volcanic  6 

■  be  the  melting  of  the  elements  which  the  pre- 
diction foreshows,  it  is  not  to  he  supposed  that  it  is 
to  extend  at  once  through  the  whole  mass  of  t!, 

sphere  around  the  whole  globe.     It  will  naturally, 
and  without  a  miracle  necessarily,  be  confined  to  the 
regions  immediately  round  the  scenes  of  the  earth- 
quakes and  volcanic  fires,  and  thence  to  the  portions 
of  the  atmosphere  over  the  regions  in  which  the  un- 
godly men  are   assembled,  whom  its  office  is  to  de- 
stroy.    And  such  a  firing  of  the  earth,  and  conflag 
tion  of  the  air,  in  those  regions  in  which  great  num- 
3  of  the  antichristian  party  live  and  are  to  be 
mbl<  d,  will  fully  equal  the  import  of  the  pn 
.  and  form  an  ample  verification  of  it.     This  view 
will  be  rendered  still  more  indubital  I  nsidera- 

hereaftei 
If  it  is  held  that  the  conflagration,  i  f  being 

produced  by  natural  means,  is  to  be  the  work  exclu- 
sively of  a  miracle,  then  no  explanation  of  the  exemp- 


.  \NI!I1!.\ 

bo  are  living  on  the  earth  it 
:  inasmuch  as  if  the  conflagration  is  altogether 
miraculous,  the  oxemption  of  the  nations  is  ju 
t  with  the  miracle  as  their  destruction  * 
be.    The  whole  supposition  that  the  Living  popula- 
tion of  the  globe  are  to  perish  by  the  conflagration, 
proceeds  on  the  assumption  thai  the  fire  is  I 
cording  to  the  laws  of  nature     It"  th< 
of  nature  nave  no  place  in  it.  but  it  i  lere 

work  of  the  divine  volition,  the  the 

nations  is  jusl  a  U  nt  with  it  as  their 

tion   can  he     'I'm   maintain,   accordingly,   that    the 
burning  <»f  the  atmosphere  must  naturally 
the  inhabitants  of  the  earth,  i-  t«»  maintain  I 

lire  i<  to  ad  according  to  the  natural   and   invari. 

Laws  of  thai  element  ;  and  that  implies  that  it 
lie  produced  by  natural  mean-:  tint  is,  by  the  in- 
flammation nt'  naturally  combustible  That, 
h<>\\                           rily  implies  that  thoc 

to  he  drawn  from  the  earth  it-el;',  in  which  i 

hie  matter  exists  in  ample  quantity  :  for  why  Bhould 
it  l»e  bu]  (  combustible 

ments  t<>  fire  the  earth,  when  such  i 
•  in  the  earl '  nd  only 

to  kindli  I  hem  into  tl 

Bui   the  supposition   that   tin; 
drawn  from  the  earth  itself,  implies  that    they  art 

be  developed  and  emitted  into  the  atmosphere  only 
in  certai  -  and  in  limited  quantities  :  for  that 

resul  partial  distribut 


THE  GLOBE  l>  NOT  TO  BE  ANNIHILATED.  'M)'i 

those  elements,  and  their  agency  as  far  as  ii  has  hith- 
erto beeE  exemplified  ;  and  thence  it  follows  thai  the 
conflagration,  instead  of  being  universal  al  the  same 
moment,  is  to  be  confined  to  limited  regions  :  and  aa 
will  hereafter  appe'ar,  Is  to  take  place  in  those  region  ; 
successively. 

Others  assume  that  none  of  the  nnsanctified  are  to 
escape  that  conflagration,  from  the  fact  thai  it  Is  de- 
signed to  destroy  "  the  men  that  are  impious."  That 
term,  however,  rvraoi  .•.  the  impious,  is  used,  there 
is  the  most  ample  certainty,  not  to  designate  the  nn- 
sanctified generally  and  promiscuously,  bn1  only  the 
open,  organized,  and  peculiarly  guilty  enemies  of 
Christ,  who  are  directly  g  his  kingdom,  or  at 

giving  their  sympathy  and  concurrence  to  its 
opposers.  For  they  are  in  several  prophecies  ex- 
pressly designated  as  the  parties  who  arc  to  be  de- 
stroyed by  fire  at  Christ's  coming.  Thus  the  ten- 
horned  beast,  that  is  to  be  slain  at  the  judgment  at 
which  the  Ancient  of  days  is  to  preside,  is  the  sym- 
bol of  the  kings  and  subordinate  rulers  of  the  fourth 
great  monarchy  ;  and  it  is  they  only  wh  trac- 

tion is  symbolized  by  its  death,  and  the  giving  of  its 
[y  to  the  burning  flame.  That  the  subjects  of  that 
empire  are  promiscuously  to  perish  along  with  the 
rulers  denoted  by  the  beast,  not  a  hint  is  given  in 
the  vision  :  nor  is  the  supposition  compatible  with 
the  revelation  which  it  makes  of  the  catastrophe  of 
the  monarchs,  the  false  prophet  symbolized  by  the 
eleventh  horn,  and  their  subordinates  in  the  govern- 


TBI 

•:'  which  I 

it  thai  they  apj 
immediately  foil 
the  dominion  of  the  earth,  . 

they,  who  are  mosl  certainl;  .:  people, 

nations,  and  lai 

throi  continue 

and  ever  ? 
Jn  like  manner  I  battle  of  Ann. 

and  the  I 
I  of  the  papacy  alone,  thai  alive 

and  bri  ;  and  the  ki 

and  armies  thai  are  to  be 

N  i  intimati 
population  of  th  hich  thoc 

and  pri<  with  th 

;  i    . 
der  by  tl 
>u1  of  the  mountain,  and  blown  away  by  the  wind 
like  i  im  the  thresl  11  is  the  chief  rulers 

and  their  subordinates  alone  who  I 
ganL 

I 
hown  by  the  crushing  of  the  image.     In 
prediction  oi 

- !.  while  it  is  »wn  thai  ill  plead 

..  and  that  th 
many,  and  thai  t] 
open  idolafr  n  ;  it  v 


THE  GLOBE  IS  M>r  T<  I  BE  ANNIHILATED.  809 

ther  all  nations  ;iud  tongues,  anfl  they  shall  come  and 
his  gidry,  and  he  will  set  a  Bign  among  them, and 
those  of  them,  that  escape,  he  will  send  to  the  nati 
;,t  a  distance  t  hat  have  m » t  heard  his  fame  nor  seen 
his  glory,  and  that  they  shall  assist  the  return  of  the 
[sraelitea  to  their  land,  and  shall  afterwards  come 
there  to  offer  worship,— -which  indicates  that  the  de- 
struction is  to  be  confined  to  the  open  and  incorrigi- 
ble enemies  of  Christ.  The  nations  at  large  arc  to 
Survive.  Jn  like  manner  the  prediction  of  the  great 
battle  at  Jerusalem,  Zech.  xiv,  exhibits  the  destruc- 
tion which  is  then  to  take  place,  as  confined  to  the 
armies  that  are  amy  insl  thai  city,  and  endea- 

voring to  prevenl  the  establishment  there  of  Christ's 
throne.  For  those  alone  who  are  to  perish  are  "  the 
pie  thai  have  fought  against  Jerusalem."  The 
remainder  of  the  nations  to  whom  those  "  people"  bc- 
longed,  are  expressly  represented  as  surviving  and 
going  up  "  from  year  to  year"  to  Jerusalem  "  to  wor- 
ship the  king,  the  Lord  of  hosts,  and  to  keep  the 
feast  of  tabernacles.''  What  can  more  clearly  .-how 
•  the  destruction  is  to  be  limited  to  the  armed 
hosts  that  are  to  1  2  <1  in  open  war  against 

Christ? 

But  that  the  phrase  "  the  ungodly  men,"  "  the  men 
that  are  impion  st  whose  judgment  and  per- 

dition tin'  burning  of  the  atmosphere  and  earth  is  re- 
served, denotes  the  open,  organized,  and  incorrigible 
enemies  of  Christ  and  his  kingdom,  who  are  engaged 
in  an  attempt  to  defeat  him.  and  prevent  the  verifr 


BIO         'i hi:  globe  i 

cation  of  his  wo]  _  I 

ml  the   parallel  prediction,  2    I ' 
those  then  I  h  who 

as  not  G 

of  onr  Lord   J  (  be  of  1 1 

is  indicated,  as  thoi  who  ha 

1        -  donian  belii  four  patii 

and  faith  in  all  your  persecntionfi  and  tribulati 
that  ye  endui  M  a  manifest  token  of  tl 

'       God  in  counting  yon  worthy  ol 
kingdom  of  God   for  which   ye   Buffer:  Bince  it   is 
righteous  with  God  to  recomj  ibulation   to 

those  who  trouble  you"  by  persecution  ; 
who  arc  afflic  I  with  us  at  the  : 

L     IJ<  ras  from  heaven  with  the 
in  flaming  fire,  takin  ance  on  them  thai  know 

not  G  pel  of  our  L     I  J 

Christ."     A  ad  faith  of  the  i 

under  persecution  are  to  be  tl.  a  of  their  ac- 

ceptance and  reward  when  Chri  -  in  flaming 

fire,  bo,  the  repr<  >n  is,  the  disowning  of  I 

and  rejection  of  the  gospel, 

::  of  the 
tion  of  those  who  are  to  perish  by  the  fire.     F 

filict 
\  ou,  it  is  '.  whom  God  is  then  to  n 

by  afflict 

That  the  terms, "  the  men  that  are  impi< 
whose  judgment  '\u>  firii  - 

the  air  and  eartl  d,  are  tb 


THE  GLOBE  [S  NOT  TO  V.K   ANNIHILATED.     811 

nate  the  openly  apostate  and  persecuting  enemies  of 
Christs  kingdom,  not  the  unrenewed  promiscuously, 
is  confirmed  also  by  the  denomination  in  the  next 
chapter,  2  Thess.  ii.  3,  4,  of  the  great  combination  of 
false  and  persecuting  teachers  of  the  Catholic  church, 
11  the  man  of  >in,"  the  Bon  of  dmtXeitu  perdition,  and  the 
antagonist  and  rival  of  all  that  is  called  God  or  enti- 
tled ti)  homage  :  and  the  announcement  that  it  is  the 
party  which  he  represents,  who  are  to  be  consumed 
by  the  breath  of  Christ's  mouth,  and  destroyed  by  the 
effulgence,  that  is  the  flaming  lire  of  his  advent. 
They  are  further  described  as  a  body  in  whom  the 
inworking  of  Satan  appears  with  all  power  ami  si 
and  Lying  miracles,  and  all  the  deceit  or  falsehood  of 
unright<  .     They  arc  to  be  persons,  therefore, 

who  profess  to  act  with  divine  authority,  and  to  work 
miracles  in  proof  of  their  commission  and  the  truth 
of  their  doctrines ;  hut  whose  miracles  are  to  be  false, 
and  their  show  of  piety  a  mere  deceit  or  counterfeit 
by  unrighteousness.  They  are  to  be  false  religious 
teachers,  therefore,  counterfeit  disciples  and  ministers 
of  Christ,  who  usurp  his  name,  authority,  and  thr 
A-  these  are  the  class  denominated  the  man  of  .-in 
and  son  of  perdition,  who  are  then  to  perish  by  the 
lire  of  Christ9  ace,  and  as  no  intimation  is  given 

that  any  others  Living  in  the  same  Bcenes  arc  to  he 

involved  in  that  catastrophe,  it  indicates  that  P 
phrase,  "  the  ungodly  men."  "  the  men  that  are  impi- 
ous, M  who  are  to  perish  at  the  same  juncture   is  us<  d 


312 

I  Ml. 

Ti, 

I,  in  which  1 1 

nd  th<-  wheat  and  tar 
under  hi-  rn 

-  w  hom  Christ  introduces  into  hi-  ! 
hut  tin-  :  ooting  tfa  !.  v>  bom  Satan  u 

I    irist's  true  di 
I.,  profess  hi-  aarne,  and  assume 
I  it  is  th( 

kingdom  at  his 
the  furnace  of  fire.    Th 
some,  Dot  improbably,  wh 

: 

ofined  to  t] 
aim  an 
.  of  the  Red 
I  .  Like  manner  those,  in  the 
shown  Matt. 
the  left  hand  of  the  judge,  and  c 
ing  punishment,  are  exhi 
those  who  fa  1  in  a  direct  relation       I 

true  people  in  tl  persecution  which  i 

[y  to  pi  his  comi 

:i  an  open  part  with  the 
with  them  I 

Bufferings.    Th< 
thai  th-  :11  in  a  condition,  if  they  bad 

had  a  dispositioi 


THE  GLOBE  is  not  TO  BE  ANNIHILATED.  313 

not  only  by  giving  Pood,  clothing,  Bhelter,  and  medi- 
cine, i"  those  who  were  at  Large  and  might  be  ap- 
proached without  obstruction,  but  to  those  also  who 
were  confined  in  prison  ;  and  thai  tlicy  took  the  Bide 
therefore,  and  in  their  sphere  acted  the  part  of  per- 
secutors, as  really  as  those  in  official  stations  by  whom 
the  persecution  was  originated  and  carried  on.  They 
are  probably  different  persons  from  those  who  are  to 
perish  at  Armageddon  ;  bul  arc  of  the  same  genera] 
class,  the  open  and  merciless  enemies  of  Christ's  true 
people. 

These  various  descriptions  of  the  parties  who  are 
then  to  be  destroyed,  all  of  which  exhibit  them  as 

open,  organized  apostates,  and  relentless  enemies  of 
God,  not  the  unsanctified  generally,  make  it  clear  that 
it  is  the  antichristian,  idolatrous,  and  persecuting 
host  alone,  that  is  then  to  perish  by  the  fires  of  the 
divine  vengeance,  not  the  unrenewed  nations  gener- 
ally of  the  earth. 


U 


8 1  I        tin:  earth 


CII  A  PTB  n   x  x  • 
ran 
1 1    idditio     •  ,ti<»n<  alleged  in  • 

ceding  chapter,  it  i<  apparent  that  the  fire  thai 

roy  "  tin-  Kmpioni  be  whole 

earth  and  reduce  it  I  :k,from1  'hat  it  is 

Fen  to  burn  np  the  bodies  of  the  antichristian  I 

rally  that  i.-  I  h  at  that  crisis,  hut  tl. 

Dsnmed,  tolx  -1  by  the  hi: 

air.  and   in   many  infll  oriaL     'i 

at  tl.  battle  i  ' 

armies  of  the  kings  who  an 
v.  il-1  re  t<>  be  -lain  by  f 

.  the  month  of  Christ,  the  t«»\\  la 
•  1  t..  gather  themseh  ther 

t.»  tin-  supper  of  th  •   1 1    1.  that  they  ma] 

ii  of  kings, and  the  flesh  of  captains,  and 
of  mighty  men,  and  th< 

thrin  that    >it  on  them,  and  the  ! 
and   bond,  both    small   ai; 

prophet   that  wrought  mir 


Till-:  EABTB  IS  WOT  M  ME  ANNIHILATED.  315 

it,  were  taken  and  cast  alive  into  tin-  lake  of  lire  burn- 
ing with  bri  :  the  remnant  were  -lain  with  the 
Bword  of  him  that  sat  upon  the  horse,  which  proceeded 

out  of  his   month,  and   all    the    fowls    were  tilled  with 

their  flesh,"  Rev.  xix.  IT  21  j  which  indicates  thai  they 
were  merely  killed  by  the  flaming  breath  of  the  I: 
deemer,  ool  devoured  by  it.  nor  by  any  conflagration 
of  the  atmosphere  or  earth  that  was  kindled  by  it.  or 

by  any  other  Cause.      For  why  Bhould  the  fowls  have 

been  invited  to  Bup  on  them,  it"  they  were  wrapped 
in  a  devouring  lire  and  consumed  by  it?     And  how, 

it'  they    were   dispatched    in    that    way,  could    all    the 

fowls,  or  any  of  them,  have  been  filled  by  their  flesh  ? 

In   like  manner  GrOg,  who  is  to  invade  the   land   of 

Israel. after  the  Israelites  have  returned  and  resettled 

there,  and  whom  God  is  to  destroy  by   raining  upon 

him 'and   upon  his  hands,  and  upon  the  many  ] pie 

that  are  with  him,  an  overflowing  rain,  and  great  hail- 
stones, fire,  and  brimstone,  is  to  be  given  unto  the 
ravenous  birds  of  every  sort,  and  to  the  beasts  of  the 
field  to  be  devoured  ;  and  their  bows  and  arrows  are 
to  remain  and  Berve  as  fuel  for  the  Israelites  for  seven 
years,  and  their  bones  are  to  lie  on  the  surface,  and 
in  such  numbers  and  scattered  over  BO  wide  a  region, 
require  .-even  months  to  complete  their  burial, 
..  xxxviii.  xxxix.  Can  a  stronger  proof  be  im- 
agined, that  though  they  are  in  a  measure  to  be  killed 
by  the  fire  and  brimstone  showered  on  them,  they  yet 
are  not  to  be  burned  and  reduced  to  ashes  by  it,  or 
by  a  general  conflagration  ?     If  they  are  to  perish  by 


main 

■ 
annihilal 
by  the  b 

abostibl 
fiiel  to  ' 
could  tin-  Israelites  them 

ii  a  universal  fin 
■  ban  that  the  wh  .  all- 

without 
liable  with  1 1 

pr  i  rer  indication  I 

■  I  in  this  prophecy,  thai  t!. 
rained  apon  ( 
though  kindled  ly  by  th 

from  the  thi 

with  which  P 
fired  and  convulsed  ?     For  I 
with  which  it  is  predicted  the  land  i  then 

1  from  the  explo- 
sion of  <  tible  matter  beneath  the  i  that 

\-  n  t  itself  by  the  projection  of  its  burnii 
and  La  into  the  atmoe 

ir  and  l 
elements,  which  it  is  foreshown  by  P 

L 
ousy.  ;.::'l  in   tii«'  tip  wrath  hnvt    ! 


Tin:  BABTB  :  NNIHILi  817 

Surely  in  thai  day  there  shall  be  a  great  shaking  in 
the  Land  of  [srael  :  bo  thai  the  fishes  of  the  Bea,  and 
the  fowls  of  the  heaven,  and  the  beasts  of  the  field, 
and  all  creeping  things  that  creep  upon  the  earth, 
ami  all  the  men  that  arc  upon  the  fate  of  the  earth, 
shall  shake  at  my  pi\  .  and  the  mountains  shall 

he  thrown  down,  and  the  Bteep  places  shall  fall,  and 
every  wall  shall  fall  to  the  -•round,"  Ezek.  xxxviii.  10, 
20.    A  great  earthquake  is  to  take  place  there, 
at  the  time  of  tie'  rain  of  the  lire  and   brimstone  on 
Gog  and  his  hosts  :   and  as   such   Hoi 
of  the  earth  usually,  and  probably  in   all  install 
issue  in  volcanic  eruj  id  which  sulphur  i-  a  li 

ing  element,  what  is  bo  probable  as  that  the  lire  and 
brin.  ith  which  the  invading  hosts  are  to  be 

overwhelmed,  are  to  be  projected  from  the  kindled 
earth  into  the  atmosphere,  and  by  emitting  a  yasf 
volume  of  inllammable  gas  along  with  them,  fdl  the 
heavens  to  a  great  height  with  flame,  and  in  the  rush- 
ing whirlwinds  and  crashing  noise  which  usually  at- 

1  the  explosions  of  great  volcanoes,  verify  the  pre- 
diction that  the  heavens  or  atmosphere  shall  rush  with 
a  loud  roar,  or  thunderi  The  phenomena 

xibed  by  th<  are  pre  ich  as  attend 

the  eruption  of  th  do,  Kilauea  Hawaii,  as 

scribed  in  pi  -  1  in  the  Thcol.  and  Lit.  Jour- 

nal, vol.  v.  pp.  1  39,  L99,  and  :T>(.>.  from  which  we  tran- 
scribe the followi  3.  "The  Btream plunged 
into  the  sea  with  loud  detonations.  The  burning 
lava,  on  meeting  the  wal  -  duvered  like  melted 


:;1  -         mi:  BABTfl  I 

-  into  million-  of  particlei  which  were  thrown  up 
in  cl  .  «m«  1  ifll  liki 

of  bail  over  the  surrounding  country.     \ 

I  and  vapors  rolled  off  D<  hirl- 

ition,  and  th 

the   lava-   formed   a   fiery   firm  I." — 

D       '    »■     l.U.  8.  i:   ;  L            lition,  pp.  L8fl  i 

-•  The  intense  heal  of  the  fountain  an  I  m  of 

lava  caused  an  iniiiix  from  <\ 

This   created   U  rrifi  rotly 

ring  about,  Like  -  atinels,  1 

tn   [thr<  tlif    daring    visitor.    'I 

the  most  dangerous  of  anything  aboul  the 
Clouds  approaching  the  volcan  driven  1 

an«l   set    moving  in  wild  confusion."     I.  II. 

Kinney,  \  i  .  J  Sept.  1852,     .21 

A-.  then,  volcanic  phenomena— the  fill 
with  flan  whirlwind  rush  of  the  air,  a  ] 

and  crash,  and  the  fusion  of  the  earthy  idem 

d  from  the  crater,  and  decomposition  of  the  v. 
and  air  with  which  they  come  in  contact—  thu 
with  thof  1  by  the  ap( 

judgment  and  destruction  of  utha  impious 
why  Bhould  it  i.  ur  thai  the  firin 

the  air  and  earth,  and  melting  of  the  el.  i]  hich 

he  foreshow  s,  are  to  be  of  the  same  kind. 
from  the  sam  V  e  he  empkr 

- 
iture,  th  -    depicted  in  I 

p 


Tin:  BABTB  tfl  BK)T  TO  BE   LXNIHILATED.  819 

it  lb  predicted  also,  Isaiah  Ixvi.  24,  thai  ther 
to  l"'  carcases  of  men,  who  are  to  be  slain  at  that 

epoch,  that  nut  only  are  not  to  be  consumed  by  the 

fire,  hut  are  to  remain  visible  at  least  lor  a  time,  and 

it  would  Beem  from  the  description,  in  a  vulcanic  lo- 
cality :  and  arc  to  he  gazed  at  by  survivors.  "And 
it  shall  conic  to  pass,  that  from  one  new  moon  to  an- 
other, and  from  one  Sabbath  to  another, shall  all  flesh 

•  in  worship  before  me.  saith  the  Lord ;  and  they 
shall  go  forth  and  look  upon  the  carcases  of  the  men 

that  have  transv.Tc~-.-rd  against  me:  lor  their  worm 
shall    not    die.   neither   >hall    their   fire  be  quenched  J 

and  they  shall  be  an  abhorring  unto  all  flesh.11 

This  view  oi'  the  catastrophe  i>  corroborated  by 
the  description  given  by  Zechariah  of  the  mode  in 

which  the  antichristian  hosts  are  then  to  be  destroy- 
ed. '•  And  this  shall  be  the  plague  wherewith  the 
Lord  will  smite  all  the  people  that  have  fought 
against  Jerusalem.  Their  flesh  shall  consume  away 
while  they  st;lnd  upon  their  feet,  and  their  eyes  shall 
3Ume  away  in  their  sockets,  and  their  tongue  shall 
3ume  away  in  their  mouth."  "And  so  shall  be 
the  plague  of  the  horse,  of  the  mule,  of  the  camel, 
and  of  the  ass,  and  of  all  tin-  beasts  that  shall  be  in 
their  tents,  as  this  plague." — Chap.  xiv.  12,  15. 

This  is  not  the  effect  that  would  naturally  be  pro- 
duce.1.  if  they  were  absolutely  enveloped  in  a  devour- 
ing lire,  as  they  then  could  not  remain  on  their  feet, 
nor  would  one  part  of  their  bodies  be  more  exposed 
to  injury  than  another  ;  but  it  is  precisely  the  effect 


. 

should  reflect  an  into 

and  general  and  whirlwii  with 

b  d  particles  that  Bhonld  rush  in  all  dii 
filling  t] 

5   few  mom<  inflammation,  and  - 

•oy  the  pari  I,  while  I 

would  Mill  he  al 

It  i-  corn  also  by  the  pr<  in- 

Instantly  destroyed  by  the  i 
are  t<>  be  thrown  into  a  tumult,  and  in  thi 

and  terror  are  to  i  11  on  i  ich  ether.    u  And  it  .-hall 

thai    (!  '     ;lt    from    the 

!   shal]   he   among  them  ;  and  they  shall   lay  | 
y  oia1  On  tie'  hand  of   hi-  Q61gh1 

shall  rise  nj.  the  hand  of  hi-  I 

xiv.  13.     This   might    naturally  i 

eruption,   that,  threatening   them  with  destrucl 

Bhonld  prompt  them  to  fly  in 

blinding  them  with  ashes  and  bid 

them   from   distinguish]  b   ether.     In  bu 

flight    they  would   naturally  run 

and  n<»t   improbably  mi 

and  each  endeavor  I 

who  'd  in  hi-  b  tumult 

an  atm<  : 

1m-  ini]. 


THE  BABTH  I-  BE  ANNIHILATED.  B21 

ered  by  his  Buff  ind  have  aeither  motive  nor 

h  to  contend  with  his  neighbor.     Who  i 
heard  of  persona  enveloped  in  the  flames  of  a  burn- 
ing building  fighting  with  each  other, 
it  possible  ? 

is  accords  also  with  the  prediction,  Psalm  xi.  6. 
••Tlu'  wicked," the  impioi  lefined,  v.  -.  as  th 

who  plot  the  destrnction  of  the  righteous.     "  For  lo, 
the  wicked  bend  their  bow,  they  make  ready  their 
arrow  upon  the  string,  that  thev  may  privily  shoot 
at  the  upright  iii  heart."    "The  Lord  is  in  his  holy 
tempi.'  :  the   Lord's  throne   i<   in   heaven  ;  his  i 
behold,   his  eyelids   try  the   children  of  men.     '. 
I.      1  trieth  the  righteous  ;  hut  the  wicked,  I  nd  him 
that  loveth  violence,  his  soul  hateth."     And  these  he 
is  to  destroy  by  a  >torm  like  those  which  are  often 
rated  by  volcanic  eruptions.     ,;  Upon  the  wicked 
shall  rain  snares,  fire  and  brimstone,  and  an  hoiTi- 
the  portion  of  their  cup." 
Ti.  siderations  make  it  clear  that  t: 

trophe   which   the   apostle    foreshow  id  of  a 

universal  conflagration  of  the  atmosphere  and 
earth,  that  is  to  blot  them  from  existenc  luce 

them  to  a  mass  of  ruins,  is  to  be  but  a  local  and  par- 
tial firing  of  the  earth  and  air,  that  is  to  be  the 
means  of  ter  I  h  to  the  impious 

hosts  and  their  co-operators  who  tyed  in  open 

war  against  Christ  ;  not  >ying  the  nations  of 

the  earth  a: 

A:  ly,  this  is  confirmed  by  the  events  that 

14* 


THI 

i  tlu» 

ClOU  ;      t)1(. 

livi:  ..  bich  BO 

confl  world  la  to  taki 

li  but  i.  traction  of  the  impious,  who 

h  by  hifl  avengii 

rely,  and   in  di  i 

i  i"  suppose  that  ti  :i  be 

the  wicked  universally  d< 
mediately  on  Christ's  arrival.     Bat    that  n 
both  wholly  onfonnded,  and  I  with  d 

events  that  .  1  and  follow  his  advent 

ifl  it  ifl  apparent  that  his  advent  its 
appearai  Id  by  all  the  inhabit 

direction  may  be  in  which  fa 

«»nly  be  \ 

one  hemisph  ptibleat 

ronnd  tl 

an   a  tion  on 

Ive  hours  a>:  by  all   : 

>ther  hemis]  while  if  he  ifl  not  visible  till 

polation 
aly  a  narrow  region. 

lightnin 
on  hi  ad  kindle  the  earth  and  atmospfo 

with  hia  armed  I  in- 

o|  bis  becoming  visible,     11  - 


Till:  EARTH   I  I  Willi  LA 

being  immediately  enveloped  in  fire  and  devonred, 
are  to  flee  to  the  mountains  and  crags,  and  endeavor 
to  hide  themselves  from  his  wrath.  "  Ami  the  kings 
of  the  earth,  and  the  great  men,  and  the  rich  men, 
and  the  chief  captains,  and  the  mighty  men,  and  every 
bondman  and  every  freeman,  hid  themselves  in  the 
dens,  and  in  the  rooks  of  the  mountains,  and  said  I" 
tlm  mountains  and  rocks,  Fall  on  us,  and  hide  us  from 
the  face  of  him  that  sitteth  upon  the  throne  and  from 
the  wrath  ol  the  Lamb  ;  for  the  great  day  of  his  wrath 
has  come,  and  who  Bhall  be  able  to  stand."  Rev.  vi. 
1 "»  IT.  The  same  terror,  flight,  and  attempt  to  secrete 
themselves  are  predicted  by  1  saiah  ii.  10—21 .  ';  Enter 
into  the  rock,  and  hide  thee  in  the  dust,  for  fear  of 
the  Lord,  and  for  the  glory  of  his  majesty.  The  lofty 
looks  of  men  shall  be  humbled,  and  the  haughtiness 
of  men  shall  be  bowed  down,  and  the  Lord  alone  shall 
be  exalted  in  that  day.  For  the  day  of  the  Lord  of 
hosts  Bhall  be  upon  everyone  that  is  vnd  \oftyy 

and  upon  every  one  that  is  It)  ;  and  he  shall  be 

brought  low;  and  upon  all  the  cedars  of  1. 
high  and  lifted  up,  and  upon  all  the  oaks  of  Bashan  ; 
and  upon  all  the  high  mountains,  and  upon  all  the 
hills  that  are  lifted  up,  and  upon  every  higl 
and  upon  every  fenced  wall,  and  upon  all  the  ships 
urshish,  and  upon  all  the  pleasant  pictures.  And 
the  loftiness  of  man  Bhall  be  bowed  down,  and  the 
ghtiness  of  men  shall  be  made  low  ;  and  the  Lord 
alone  shall  be  exalted  in  that  day.  And  the  idols 
shall  be  utterly  abolished.     And  they  shall  go  into 


B24 

arth, 
for  fear  of  the  L  >rd, 

when  he  arii  Tibly  the  earth.    lo 

day  Bhall  a  man  cast  hifl  idoh  of  silver  and  I 

»ld,  which  they  i 
ship,  to  the  molee  and  to  I 
clefts  of  the  rocks,  and  into  the 
rocks,  for  fear  of  the  Lord,  and  for  the 
majesty,  when  he  ariseth  to  Bhake  terribly  th< 
i        indicates  thai  the  v<  !  a  to 

jially  directed  against  tfu 
ad  that  a  terrible  earth 
means  by  which  it  is 
that  the  guilty 

Btroyed,  but  are  to  have  opportunity 
mountains,  and  hide  then 

Theevenl  foreshown  in  these]  -  the 

battle  of  An  11.  when  the  usurping  and  p 

cuting  powers  d 

prophet,  and  their  armi<  A 

still  Longer  period  Is  to  into  rvene  ;  I 

:it,  and  the  judgment  of  th 
Bcril 

ther  after  !  rally 

Bupposed,  at 

. 
louds  of  heaven,  1  Lfannon 

ith  a 
trumpel 
from  tin-  four  winds. 


BE  ANNIHILATED. 

other ;  and  i;  is  Btill  later,  it  is  Indicated  in  th 
of  the  vintage,  Rev,  liv.  IT  20,  th.it  the  wicked  are 
to  be  gathered  and  destroyed  :  and  probably  neither 
is  to  be  assembled  at  one  time  and  in 
The  language  does  not  imply  i 
representation  will  be  perfectly  verified  by  th 
bling  of  the  nations  before  him,  though  it  be  indiffer- 
ent  g  and  successively.     And  why  should  the 

illation  of  Europe,  A  nerica,  and  the  P 

fie  and    Indian   i-  '.    I  i    Ajsia    I 

judged? — a  process  that  ui  lomplished  by  a 

miracle.  CCUpy  many  years,  more  indeed  far 

than  an  ordinary  lifetime  even  of  the   I  I  de- 

mand extraordinary  provisions  for  the  subsistence 
and  shelter  of  those  collected  at  the  scene,  while  the. 
gathering  was  in  prog  Such  a  voyage  and  march 

of  nine  hundred  millions  of  human  beings  to  a  single 
point  on  the  globe,  would  involve,  in  truth,  an  array 
of  miracles,  compared  with  which  all  that  have  hith- 
erto been  wrought  in  the  government  of  the  world 
would    sink    into    insigni  :   and    is    not    to   be 

thou  The  judgment  of  the  nations  will  doubt- 

in  their  Beveral   territo  I   in 

succession.     A  i  ble  period  t'. 

impossibly  ■  impleted.    The 

supposition,  accordingly,  that  the  earth  and  atmos- 
phere are   t  d   throughout   and  utterly 
sum  atradictious  and 
absurd. 

It  i>  equally  inconsistent  with  the  resurrection  of 


TBI   K AIM  II    I 

the  unholy  from  the 

of  the  \  moted  by  the  thooi 

3  eai  I  and  the  n  of 

the  right  the  an  tii 

led  in  I  d  of  the 

resurrection  of  the  holy  dead  at 
of  the  thousand  years,  thai  "  the  rest  of 
not  i"  live  again  until  the  thousand 
ed  :"  and  there  is  immediately  after  a  vision  of  tl 
resurrection  from  the  sea,  tfa 
of  the  onburied,  and  their  judgment  soon  aftei 

•  of  the  thousand  years.     But  their  tion 

at  thai  late  prri.Ml.  after  Oh]  aing  and 

tion  of  the  impious  hosts,  symbolized  by  the  1 
Babylon,  the  false  prophet,  and  their  confeder 
Bhowa  that  the  earth  and  air  cannot  in  the  m* 

been  reduc  ruins  by 

tion,  and  th<  rack  froi 

as  then,  to  make  it  possible,  it  would  1 
that  the  earth  ai  Lould  be  1  from  I 

dissolution  to  essentially  the  Btate  in  which  they  Bub- 

!  before  their  destruction  ;  for  how  can  \'. 
and  tin-  sea  at  that  epoch  give  ap  th 
in  them,  if  there  are  do  graves,  nor  Bea,  in  which  the 

•  lead  are  buried?      But  who  will  venture  to  maintain 

h  and  th  be  repr 

nonn  .  in  th(  ad  that 

I  they  once  containi  1  in 

them,  in  i  their  i  stion  in  the  mai 

D  ? 


Tin:  i:\kth  i  -  LNNIHILATED.  327 

Such  are  the  stupendous  contradrctions  and  absur- 
dities which  the  notion  of  the  conflagration  and  di 
lotion  of  the  world  at  Christ's  coming  involves.     It 

iini    only  lias   no  authority  whatever   in   the    pass 

from  which  it  has  been  drawn,  and  no  countenance 
from  any  other  part  of  the  word  of  God,  but  it  is  en- 
tirely inconsistent  with  the  views  which  are  presented 

in  the  prophets  of  the  events  that  are  to  attend  and 

follow  Christ's  coming,  destruction  of  the  impious, 

judgment  of  the  living  population  of  the  world,  and 

a  over  the  nations  through  the  ages  that  are  to 

follow. 

It  is  nut  the  Millenari.m.  therefore,  hut  the  Anti- 
millenarian, whot  a  it  is  impossible  to  reconcile 

with  th«  'a  language,  and  the  teaching 

rally  of  the  Scriptures  on  this  budj 

On  the  whole,  then,  the  notion  almost  universally 
entertained  of  the  conflagration  and  dissolution  of  the 
heavens  and  earth  at  Christ's  coming,  is  without  any 
ground  whatever  in  the  8  's  words,  and  sprii  a>a 

wholly  from  attaching  to  them  a  meaning  which  : 
i\o  not  involve.  The  tire-  by  which  the  impious 
then  to  |  be  hut  local  and   tempo- 

rary, and  are  to  offer,  there  is  reason  to  believe,  no 
more  •  to  the  f  the  population  of  the 

globe   at  largd',  than  the   volcanoes  have  that  fa 
already  raged  in  the  depths  of  the  earth,  and  ejected 
their  burning  elements  into  the  a1  re. 


. 


C  II  A  PT  E  B    X  X  V  j  . 

THE  EUPHRATES,  OR  ALIENATION  OF  Til 
TIONAL    HIEBi  . 

<:  Tin:  KINGS  TO  Tin:  GBIAX  BATTLI 

Hit  Christ's  advent  i>  still  at  a  c 
tancjft,  and  is  t<»  be  preceded  by  i  I  ami 

momentous  events,  both  in  I 

world  and  in  the  church.     What  are  tin-  triumphs 
or  <! 

cun.  his   iVicixls.  that   an-  to  mark  t!. 

that  la-  comes  and  . 

earth?     Wh  bich 

mplisliment  of  the  Apocalypse  ha-  advam 
Tin-  lir-t  tour  vials  are  justly  i 

i  ired  in  I  lution  i 

that  followed  it  from  1789  to  L815,  and  in  a  meat 
still  lati-r:  and  tin-  fifth  a£  red  od  the  throi  - 

the  1  rtially  in  1  sl")  ai 

'     bholic  th 
for  a  time  in  i  Bed  overtu 
dom  of  I  I   Glled   with  darkni 


THE  DRYING  OF  THE  BUPHB  ' 


has  I  ling  through  Dearly  as  long  a  period, 

and  Is  Btill  pouring.    The  Euphrates  of  thai  \  ial  b< 
the  same  relation  to  the  Babylon  of  the  prophi 
thai  tlu4  real  river  bore  to  the  literal  Babylon,  the 
metropolis  of  Ghaldea  thai  Btood  on  its  banks.    The 
symbol  is  taken  from  the  drying  up  of  the  Euphr; 
by  Cyrus,  by  diverting  its  waters  from  their  channel, 
and   by  that   means   entering   and  conquering  the 
city;  and  it  foreshows  an  analogous  change  in  that 
which  the  symbolic  Euphrates  represents,  and  as  the 
means  of  a  similar  conquest  and  destruction  i  >f  thai 
which  the  Babylon  of  the  prophecy  denotes,    Bui 
the  waters  of  the  Euphrates  symbolize  peoples^  anti 
nations,  and  multitu  the  rivers  and  fount 

of  the  third  vial  are  expressly  interpreted,  as  di 
ting  human  being's,  communities,  and  nations.  "The 
third  angel  poured  out  his  vial  upon  the  rivers  and 
fountains  of  waters,  and  they  became  blood.  And  I 
heard  the  angel  of  the  waters  say  :  Thou  art  right- 
eous, 0  Lord,  who  art,  and  who  wast,  the  holy,  be- 
se  thou  hast  judged  thus  :  For  they  i  I  the 

mints  and  prophets,  and  thou  kai 

I  to  drink:  for  they  are  worthy"    Rev.  xvi.  4,  5. 

There  is  a  similar  exposition  of  the  waters  that  were 

.umt  vision  surrounding  the  seven 

ic     "  And  he  said  unto  me,  The  waters 

which  thou  E  here  the  harlot  sitteth.  are  peo- 

3,    and    multitudes,    and    nations,    and    tongui  3." 

.  xvii.  1").     The  waters  of  the  Euphrates,  there- 
are  thus  shown  by  the  revealing  Spirit,  him- 


T!!i 

and  multitudes,  and  nat 
Thai  In- li    t; 

phecy  repr<  tanda  in  a  relation  na- 

ti«.ns  and   multitudes,  thai    resembles   thai 
literal  Babylon  to  the  Euphrates  ;  and  is  the  I 
archy   of   the    Catholic    church   especially,  or   the 
whole  body  of  it-  eccl<  aiza- 

tion,  nationalized  by  the  state  ;  as  ia  indicated  1' 
Btation  of  1  B  ibylon  on  the  wild  1  • 

Bymbol  of  the  en  il  rulers  of  the  I  em- 

pire.   The  drying  up  of  the  watei  a  of  the  Euphi 

-  to  prepare  the  way  for  Oyrua  ..    i  Darius,  the 
kinga  of  the  Bast,  to  enter  and  conquer  i; 
the  separation  in  a  resembling  manner  of  the  nati 
and  multitudes  of  the  kingdoms  of  Eur<  .  the 

irchiea  of  the  nationalized  church*  -  tally 

the    Catholic.     And   thi  is   air. 

wrought  on  a  lar  agdom  to  which 

In    [taly,    Spain,    P 
in»l.  and  Germany  there  ia  a 
alienation  of  the  Catholics  from  tl 
An  equal  dee  T  the  churcl  d  to 

the   ministei  rils    in  the  F  at    nati 

establishments  of   Belgium,    Eolland,    P  and 

while  i     I  Britain  mo 

population  i  i  dissenters  from  tl.  tfsh- 

ment,  and  a  1  ire  of  those  who  still  belong  to 

it,  regard  it  with  indifferent  n. 

Tl.  mi  l>y  this  vial  i 

• 


THE  EMISSION  OP  THE  tJN<  LEAN  SPIBITS.  331 

carried  still  farther,  doubtless,  and  ere  it  reach* 
completion,  it  is  probable  from  the  symbols  of  Chap- 
ter xvii.  thai  t ho  Protestant  national  churches  of 
Great  Britain  and  Ireland,  France,  Switzerland, 
Belgium,  Eolland,  Prussia,  and  Saxony,  will  be  de- 
nationalized,  and   the    Catholic   be   reinstated    in    the 

supremacy  Bhe  formerly  enjoyed  throughoul  the  ten 
kingdoms.  The  woman  Babylon,  borne  by  the  wild 
beasl  in  his  Last  form  immediately  before  going  to 
perdition,  is  the  Bymbol  of  a  hierarchy,  or  combina- 
tion of  hierarchies,  that  drinks  the  blood  of  the 
saints  and  the  martyrs  of  Jesus.  She  denote* 
persecuting  hierarchy,  or  combination  of  hierar- 
chies then,  that  agree  in  the  hatred  of  Christ's  doc- 
trines and  disciples.  They  all,  therefore,  it  seems 
probable  are  to  be  Catholics. 

When  this  alienation  of  the  people  from  the  hierar- 
chies lias  readied  its  consummation,  the  way  will  be 
for  the  parties  whom  the  kings  of  the  earth 
symbolize,  to  assail  them  and  deject  them  from  their 
station,  as  nationalized  establishments,  sustained  and 
ruled  by  the  Bta 

Another  important  event  thai  i-  to  take  place  under 
the  sixth  vial,  is  tin'  Bending  forth  of  the  unclean  spi- 
rit >  by  tl  ,.  wild  beast  and  false  prophet.  "And 
;'  the  mouth  of  the  dragon,  and  out 
oi'  the  mouth  of  the  wild  beast,  and  out  of  the  mouth 
ol  the  false  prophet,  three  unclean  Bpirits  like  fr 
For  they  are  spirits  of  demons  working  Bigns,  which 
go  forth  to  the  kings  of  the  whole  habitable  earth,  to 


■l\' 
ber  them  to  the  i  I      I  the 

All:.  I  .  18,  14. 

like  mua1  have  had  bod 

doul  thai  animal.     'I 

•  groveling  and  i 
■ 
address  themselves  to  the  ki 
ble  earth — thai  is,  of  the  Roman 
from  tin*  North  sea  to  the  Euphrates,  and  should 
Boade  them  to  enter  into  a  war  againsl  Christ  and  his 
kingdom,  implies  thai  they  will  have  Bunk  to  th< 

ble  degn 
impiety.     A  mure  unlikely  b! 

iial  and  religions  influence  could  oo1  be  - 
A.8  they  are  intelligences  and  in 
whom  they  denote  mnsl  be  in:*  '  1  in 

bodii  it  u- 

alitv. 

demon  frogs  thai   r<  A 

wrought  omplish  their  i  .  hu- 

man beings  are  to  w 
miracnlons,  and  shal]  pass  them 

they  art-  the  mil  I 

athority  for  the  comman  bich 

they  demand  obedience.    Ti 
show-  thai  the  dragon,  the  wild  n  1  the  t 

I 

human   beil 


Tin:  i:\n--  PHE  [JNCLEAN  BPI1 

to  go  to  the  kings  of  the  whole  ancient  Roman  em- 
pire- Btretching  from  the  Euphrates  to  the  Shetland 
Isles — and  professing  to  be  ministers,  an 

work  Bigns  before  them,  and  are  to  gather  them  to 
the  battle  of  the  great  day  of  God  Almighty,  when 
he  is  to  destroy  them.  As  thai  battle  is  to  take  place 
in  the  great  plain  of  Esdraelon  in  Palestine,  and  i 
have  for  its  object  the  dispersion  of  the  Israelites 
who  will  have1  return*  1  to  Jerusalem,  and  the  preven- 
tion of  a  Hi  brew  kingdom  there  over  which  Christ 
can  reign,  it  is  apparent  that  the  agents  of  the  dra- 
gon beast  ami  false  prophet,  are  t<>  gather  the  kin.^s 
there  for  the  purpose  of  preventing  the  institution 
kingdom.  And  this  implies  that  at  the 
time  when  they  are  Bent  forth  for  that  purpose  and 
commence  their  work,  the  Israelites  will  have  began 
to  return  to  their  national  land  :  and  that  the  expec- 
tation will  prevail  among  Christ's  true  people  that 
lie  is  soon  to  appear  for  their  redemption,  that  his 
advent  is  to  take  place  in  Palestine,  and  that  it  i-  to 
■  for  its  iirst  object,  the  deliverance  and  reorgani- 
zation of  the  Israelites,  and  destruction  of  their  and 
his  foes.  .This  prediction  therefore  indicates  that 
during  the  pouring  of  the  sixth  vial,  and  alienation 
of  the  population  of  the  West  of  Europe  from  their 
persecuting  hierarchies,  the  Israelites  are  to  begin 
to  return  to  Palestine  in  the  expectation  of  reestab- 
lishing themselves  ae  God's  people  there;  that  the 
faithful  disciples  of  Christ  will  generally  I 
persuaded  that  the  time  of  his  adv<  at  is  at  hand,  and 


thai   he   i«  to  appear  b  his 

throu  and  thai  th< 

the  wild 
prophet,  \\  ill  each  send  I 
most  ble  character,  who  .-hall 

1 1       and  .-hall  j>  the  kings  of  tin* 

u  hole  Roman  empire    E      and  W{    I  le  in 

Palestine  to  disperse  the  I  i  who  have  retm 

and  thereby  to  intercept   the  institution  then 
Christ's  kingdom.    Thia  showa  that  the  sixth  %; 

to  pour  for  a  considerable  time,  and  th 
changes  are  to  take  place  in  the  faith  of  the  people 
of  God  in  respect  to  hie  a    the  slaughter 

and  resurrection  of  the  witn 
before  I  he  seventh  trumpet,  and  as  they  will  nndi 
edly  carry  a  resistless  conviction  to  all  ( 
ciplea  that  his  coming  ia  at  hand,  it  ia  probable  that 
the  •  "i*  the  agents  1  by  tfa 

-  will  not  take  place  till  after  th 
The  prophel  adda  tin-  warni 

thief.  Blessed  ia  he  that  watcheth  and  keepeth  his 
garments  (on),  lest  he  walk  naked  and  theysee  his 
shame.     And  he  1  them  I 

called  in  the  Hebrew  \  ,  15, 

16.    Th:  I  cning  will  th< 

hand,  that  he  will  apprise  his  people  of  it.  and  thai 
will  watch  for  Ids  approach  like  one  who,  \ 

thai  he  may  do!  be  obliged  to  meel  him  ui 

and    with    di  .What 


CHANGES  IX  THE  VIEWS  OF  BELIEV1 

The  church  of  true  believers  are  to  I"-  w  holly  waked 
ere  then  from  the  dreams  which  they  are  now  Indulg- 
ing. They  will  cease  to  pervert  and  deny  his  word 
under  the  pretexl  of  assigning  it  a  spiritual  meaning. 
Their  ryes  will  be  opened  to  discern  its  plain  teach- 
ings :  and  they  will  turn  from  their  mistaken  theories 
of  the  regeneration  of  the  world,  to  welcome  the  com- 
ing and  reign  of  the  Lamb  ;  the  King  of  kings  and 
Lord  of  lords. 


CHAPTJ  \  VII. 

EVENTS  Til  AT  ftfi  .    T|JK 

l'l:: 

THE  CATHOLIC  BHSABCB 

A   REVOLUTION 

kingdom  take  place  probably  at 

;!i  vial,  in  which 
[]  ami  DC 

an  elective  or  militar 
empi 

the  \  ifli 
led  from  tin-  head 
The  wild  bap.  xiii.  1   l<». 

civil  and  military  rulers  of  I         \l 

rigin  down  to  tl.  |  by 

•    The  I  •  asl  of  ch  ip.  rvii,  i- 
Bvmbol  also  of  the  civil  rnlera  of  thai  empire 

a  I.U 

and  in  an  altered  form. 

xiii.  -  i 


PALL  OF  THE  GOVERNMENTS  OP  WE  i:  i:  ■       .  337 

to  ascend  out  of  the  abyss,  hades,  the  invisible  world, 
where  the  devil  la  to  I"'  casl  and  imprisoned,  chap. 
xx.  3,  and  where  the  spirits  of  the  onsanctified  abide. 
This  indicates  that  before  assuming  the  form  which 
it  is  t<>  wear  at  the  period  to  which  chap,  xvii  rei 
it  ia  to  perish,  and  ia  to  return  to  life  in  its  last  Bhape, 
as  it  were  by  a  resurrection.  The  angel  Baid  of  it 
accordingly,  "  The  beast  that  thou  sawest,  was,  and 
i>  not,  and  shall  ascend  out  of  the  abyss — hades — and 
go  into  perdition  ;"  and  he  represents  its  reappearance 
after  its  destruction,  as  exciting  the  astonishment  of 
the  nations  over  which  it  is  to  nil-'.  "  And  they  that 
dwell  on  the  earth  shall  wonder  (whose  nam 
not  written  in  the  book  of  life  from  the  foundation  of 
the  world)  when  they  behold  the  beast  that  was,  and 
is  not,  and  yet  is.,J  This  beast  differs  from  that  of 
chap,  xiii  in  its  hue.  It  is  scarlet  colored  ;  signify- 
ing that  it  is  to  be  steeped  in  blood.     No  such  d\ 

ibed  to  the  beast  that  rose  from  the  sea.  It  ia  to 
be  full,  or  covered  throughout  with  names  of  blas- 
phemy, indicating  that  it  is  to  be  pre-eminently  impi- 
ous in  its  pretensions  and  acts.     The  beast  from  the 

only  had  mimes  of  blasphemy  mi  its  heads.  On 
the  ten  horns  of  the  beast  from  the  sea  there  v. 
ten  diadems.  Bhowing  that  the  rulers  whom  the  horns 
Bymbolized  were  to  be  independent,  or  absolute  mon- 
archs.  Nothing  is  said  of  diadems  on  the  horns  of 
the  beast  from  the  abysa  :  and  it  would  seem  from 
the  description  of  the  kh  hieis  whom  they  re- 

present, v.  L2,  th.it  they  are  not  in  reality  to  be  inde- 
'  15 


\    t  ill  m 

the 
D  of  nil- 
rank,  as  daring  the  I 

•  he  }i«»nis.  as  dm  Ive  bun 

of  their  power,  it  lb  t<>  be  an 

r  imperial  chief,  much  li 
] 
ii  mountains,  where  1 

i      .  : 

l  when  he  ooi 

t  i in :  •  .     And  the  which  wi 

nut.  even  he  zhtli  (king),  and  is  of  th< 

— in  irdition.    And  the  ten  horns  which 

thou  -  which  Lave  nol 

a  kingdom,  bat  n  authority  as  kii ._ 

with  ihail  lia\ 

give  their  power  and  authority  to  1  1 

war  with  the  Lamb,  and  the  L 
conquer  them  :  for  he  ia  Lord       lords,  ai  I  K 
kings,  and  they  who  arc  with  him  are  called,  and 
I  faithful."  chap.  xvii.  9  1 L    Thai  the  i 

luin,  but  only  have  authority 
a  with  the  beast,  and  thai   thej  their 

power  and  authority  to  him,  that  thej 

to  be  absolute  monai 

onder  the  eighth  king,  who  like 
1  by  th<  beads  i 

_.  or  chief  of  the  whole  empire  : 


THE  G0VERNME3  I    I  HAT  IS  PO  6U<  I  BED. 

La  called  the  beast,  it  would  seem,  because  the  whole 
power  of  the  empire  will  in  facl  be  beld  by  him. 

Thia  visi.m  thua  clearly  shows  thai  the  beast  of  ten 
diademed  home  thai  rose  i  ul  of  the  sea  is.  at  the  end 
of  its  twelve  hundred  and  sixty  years  probably,  to 
perish  in  Borne  great  political  convulsion  ;  and  is 
again  to  rise  from  the  abyss  of  hades  to  a  new  life  in 
a  modified  form,  and  after  a  brief  career  go  to  perdi- 
tion. In  that  revolution  the  old  monarchies  arc  to 
fall,  and  be  succeeded  by  an  imperial  chief  who  shall 
reign  ever  the  whole  empire,  with  absolute  sway  like 
the  emperors  of  the  old  Roman  empire  ;  and  by  ten 
subordinate  chiefs  who  shall  receive  authority  much 
aa  though  they  were  kings;  bu1  who  perhaps  after 
rising  to  their  stations, by  popular  choice, or  usurpa- 
tion, shall  give  over  their  power  to  that  imperial 
chief, and  hold  it  thereafter  as  his  subordinated.  A  ad 
in  thia  relation,  they  are  to  make  war  on  the  Lamb, 
and  to  be  conquered  by  him. 

This  great  revolution  in  the  governments  of  the 
ten  kingdoms  is  clearly  yet  future.  Though  the  mon- 
archa  of  several  of  the  Catholic  kingdoms  lost  their 
power  for  a  Bhort  time  in  18  Is1.  and  tin-  beast  appeared 
to  have  perished,  and  to  he  followed  by  elective 
chiefs;  yet  the  old  monarchi  i  recovered  their 

former  power  in  all  the  kingdoms  except  France, 

where  a  now  rule  was  established.  That  may  perhaps 
prove  the  beginning  of  the  change.  The  other  mon- 
archies  may  Dot  fall  together  but  in  Bucceaaion  :  as 
they  originally  rose,  not  simultaneously,  but  at  differ- 


•  '»  I1  •      TI1K  CllAMlE  HI  a  I.. 

cut  it  is 

not  clearly  revealed,  but  certainl 

ixtli  vi.il  :   ; 
9,  that  it  Lfl  the  ! 

..'i  the  witnesses  and  ovefcoi  and  that 

loody  hue,  and  the  intxn 
woman  whom  it  bean,  with  th<-  I 
nd  of  the  wit  And  their 

■ 
as  already  to  be  a  preparation  for  it  in  I* 
many,  Spain,  and  Portu  one  wonld  be  ror- 

revolntioi 
that  Bhonld  overthrow  the  old  dynaati 
demi  .  or  military  de<  on  th<  ir  n 

Nor  would  it  be  deemed  Btrange,  should  Buch  i 
ere  long  take  place  in  Great   Britain.     1 

that  arc  in  action,  it  Is  universally  felt,  must  naturally. 

sooner  or  later,  issue  In  Buch  a  ohs 

in  this  Last  form  may.  perl  iupy  the  thirty 

9,  that  are  to  follow  the  twelve  hun.L  I 

Th<  utinir  hierarchy 

ii  i-  Bhown  by  this  vision,  when  the  from 

the  abyas  i"  i  exalted  t<>  Bupremacy 

throughout   the  ten  kin.  I  ition  "1*  the 

woman  Babylon  on  the  I  -  that  the  hierar- 

chies which  she  repr  he  nationalised,  and 

this  implies  that  the   P  stablishn 

« I     .t  Britain  and  the  continent  will  then  have  fallen. 
and   '       I  hurch  hi 

power.    Th(  oaly 


THE  OATHOLIO  CHURCH  A<;A1.N  TO  BE  IX  POWER.    '■'.  W 

in  that  direction.  Ber  holding  tin-  cup  of  her  abom- 
inations in  her  hand,  indicates  that  Bhe  ifi  to  be  active 
in  the  dissemination  of  her  false  doctrines  and  super- 
Btitions  and  idolatrous  rites ;  while  her  intoxication 
with  the  blood  of  the  saints  and  martyrs  of  Jeans, 
foreshows  that  she  is  to  pursue  and  slaughter  them 
with  an  infuriate  joy.  Jhit  her  triumph  will  be  short. 
The  demonstration  of  her  impious  character,  and  con- 
futation of  Iter  pretences  that  will  be  wrought  by  the 
resurrection  of  the  witnesses,  will  disenchant  the  mul- 
titude, whom  she  has  duped,  from  her  sorceries  and 
prompt  them  to  assail  and  destroy  her. 


B42  mi 


OHi  PTBB   X  xviii. 

EDI  CIIRI  1ITKR 

am'  of  m  wmm 

I;   1b  under  tin-  sway  of  the  wild  betel  fi 
m  that  the  persecution,  slaughter  ami  r< 
ti«>n  of  tin'  witn<  and  probably 

soon  after  its  return  t<>  power.    "  Ami  I  will  give  to 
my  cwo  witi  ad  they  shall  prophesy 

Band  two  hundred  and  threescore  d 
And  when  they  shall  have  finis! 
the  beasi  tl,  leth  out 

war  upon  them,  and  -hall  <  .  them,  and  shall 

kill  thnn.    And  their  dead  body  BhaU  lie  in  t: 
place  <>f  the  great  city  which  spiritually  is  called 
dom  and  Egypt,  wh<  their  L  r  I  •'  as  cm 

And  they  of  the  peoples,  and  tribes,  and  I 
nations  (gathered  there)  look  on  their  dead  body  three 

and  a  halt*,   and    they    do    li"t    Buffer    th 

bodies  to  1"-  put  into  a  sepulchre.      \    I  thej   that 

dwell    Qpon    the    earth    ri  VQT   them    and    exult, 

shall  Bend  j  another,  becaue 

I     thnn    that    dwell    en 

:h. 


OF  THE  WITNESSES.  843 

'"  And  after  three  days  and  a  half  the  Spirit  o(*  life 
from  God  entered  into  them,  and  they  stood  upon 
their  feet,  and  great  fear  fell  upon  those  who  saw 
them.  And  they  heard  a  greal  voice  from  heaven, 
Baying  nn to  them,  Ascend  here.  And  they  ascended 
into  heaven  in  the  cloud,  and  their  enemies  saw  them. 
And  in  the  same  hour  there  was  a  greal  earthquake, 
and  the  tenth  pari  of  the  city  fell  ;  and  in  the  earth- 
quake were  slain  seven  thousand  names  of  men  (men 
of  name),  and  the  rest  became  fearful,  and  gave  glory 
to  the  (iod  of  heaven."       EteV.  xi.   '■)  -13. 

The  two  witnesses  are  representatives  according 

in  the  third  law  of  symbols,  of  men  that  are  witnee 
like  themselves;  not  agents  of  a  different  nature. 
This  is  seen  from  the  consideration  that  their  death 
cannot  symbolize  any  other  event  than  a  real  death 
of  witnesses  for  Christ.  Their  death  cannot  repre- 
sent an  apostasy  from  God,  for  his  witnesses  do  not 
apostatize  :  nor  would  lie  raise  apostates  from  their 
apostasy  to  his  presence  in  heaven  as  a  public  vindi- 
cation and  reward  of  their  revolt  from  him.  The 
death  which  their  dying  symbolizes  is  a  real  corpo- 
real death,  therefore,  of  witnesses  like  themseh 
and  this  is  confirmed  by  the  consideration,  that,  if  a 
real  death  and  resurrection  of  witnesses  for  Jesns 
were  to  he  foreshown  symbolically:  there  are  no 
symbols  that  could  represent  it  but  a  real  death  and 
resurrection  of  witnesses  like  themselves.  The  death 
of  animals  could  not  represent  it.  for  they  cannot  die 
as  witnesses.     Nor  is  there  any  other  event  of  which 


'lis: 

men 
it.       i 
like 

nd  theii 

• 
ion  and  ion    t«»  1. 

whom  they  BymbolL    . 

sixth  1/ 
doubtedly  r<  My  hun- 

Is,  perhaps  thou 
.en  they  have  finished  tb 
hundred 

out  . — that  i 

make  war  on  them,  an<l  conquer 

ity  which  spiritual! 

(.all. 

y   in 
which    I 

D,  with  the  temj 
a  by  th( 
the  i 

minion  i 
in  which  the  Christian  chun 
• 

—which 

ten  kii. 


of  Tin:  wn  \  346 

business.  It  may  therefore  be  the  leading  city  id 
England  ;  it  may  be  the  capita]  of  Prance  ;  it  may  b§ 
a  much  frequented  city  of  Italy. 

The  time  of  the  bodies  remaining  there — three 
days  and  a  half  -is  the  symbol  of  three  and  a  hall* 
years.  The  preservation  of  the  bodies unburied,  and 
in  a  locality  where  they  were  accessible,  and  were 
continually  inspected  by  people  from  different  parts 
of  the  empire  for  three  days  and  a  half,  signifies  that 
the  bodies  of  those  whom  they  represent,  are  in  like 
manner  at  the  instance  of  the  people,  to  be  kept  un- 
buried in  a  place  where  they  are  to  be  open  to  in- 
spection by  all  who  wish  to  see  them  :  and  that  they 
are  to  be  continually  visited  and  viewed  by  persons 
from  the  different  districts  of  the  empire  :  and  that 
treatment  must  undoubtedly  be  prompted  by  some 
peculiar  and  powerful  motive  :  and  what  can  it  be, 
but  a  wish  to  test  and  confute,  if  possible,  the  truth 
of  this  prophecy,  that  the  witnesses  are  at  the  end 
of  three  years  and  a  half  to  be  raised  from  the  dead  ? 
The  measures  to  be  taken  arc  precisely  such  as  would 
naturally  be  employed  by  the  civil  powers,  if  the 
witnesses  and  their  friends  entertained  and  prof.  Bsed 
the  belief,  that  according  to  this  prophecy,  God  would 
raise  them  to  life  and  take  them  to  heaven  :  and  the 
riders  and  people  disbelieving  and  deriding  it,  re- 
solved in  the  most  effective  manner  to  test,  and  if 
confute  it.  That  accordingly  is  the  object 
undoubtedly  oi'  their  preserving  their  bodies  un- 
buried. and  in  a  form  in  which  thev  will  be  prevent- 

1 5* 


Tli: 

• :  Mm  dissolution,  and  can  be  identifii 
the  •  for  which  the  b 

where  the)  will  1 pen  to  inspection  bywhoi 

w Mi  them.     T.  it  is  1  thai   they 

are  to  be  ol 

mtinuonsly  by  |  of  the  diffi 

peoples,  and  kdndre*  .  and  na1 

•  mpire  through  the  whole  of  the  thn  -  and 

i  half  of  their  lying  dead  :  and  that  is  th< 
that  on  the  day  of  their  resurrection,  their  enemies 
arc  to  be  present,  and  are  to  witness  theii  ition 

to  life  and  assumption  to  heaven.     Why  arc  their 

cm-iii :    -   to   be    |  at   that  juncture,  if  it   if 

that  they  are  to  be  aware  that  that  is  the  day  on 
which,  according  to  this  prophecy,  their  r<  snrrection 

lake  ]»1  ; 

This  vision  thus  foreshows  that  the  wild  b< 
after  its  return  from  hades,  is  to  attempt  to  confute 
this  prophecy,  and  the  persuasion  of  the  martyn 
-.  and  their  friends,  that  they  are  truly  his  wit- 

•  v  putting  them  to  death  in  the  manner 
3  uteil  in  this  vision,  and  complying  with  all  its 
predictions  in  the  preservation  of  their  bodies  mi- 
buried   in  a  ;  chief  COnCOUrse,  in  the  empire, 

and  in  a  form  in  which  they  can  he  identifii 
allowing  them  to  be  continually  visited  and  i: 
by  whoever  wisl  them  ;  and  that  this 

cause  a  crowd  ci*  their  enemies  t.>  he  pn  Benl  at 
time  whi  '  ding  i"  the  prophecy,  tin 

to  their  non-  ,  should 


OF  Tin:  WITNESSES.  847 

they  Dot  riso  ;  lint  who,  instead  of  triumphing  over 
the  victims  of  their  rage,  arc  themselves  to  meel  a 
defeat.  At  the  great  moment,  the  cloud  of  the  di- 
vine presence  is  suddenly  to  iill  the  heavens  over 
Bcene,  and  doubtless  to  flash  its  glory  on  the  crowds 
upgazing  in  Burprise  and  terror.  The  Spirit  of 
life  is  to  descend  from  Jehovah,  and  entering  the 
dead  witnesses,  they  are  to  rise  to  their  feet,  and  a 
loud  voice  from  heaven  calling  them  to  ascend  there, 
they  are  to  pass  up  through  the  air  and  enter  the 
cloudy  pavilion  in  which  the  Almighty  is  concealed. 
No  wonder  their  enemies  who  witness  the  spectacle 
are  to  be  struck  with  fear,  and  give  glory  to  the  God 
of  heaven  !  Xo  wonder  that  the  whole  population  of 
the  empire  are  to  be  thrown  into  commotion  at  the 
news  of  the  event  !  A  great  political  agitation  and 
revolution,  symbolized  by  an  earthquake,  is  immedi- 
ately to  follow,  and  a  tenth  part  of  the  empire,  that 
is  one  of  its  ten  kingdoms  symbolized  by  a  tenth  of 
the  city,  is  to  fall,  and  thousands  of  the  most  con- 
spicuous and  influential  in  it,  are  to  perish. 

What  an  impressive  proof  this  revelation  presents 
of  the  error  of  the  notion  that  is  generally  entertain- 
ed, that  the  days  of  persecution  are  over  ;  that  the 
church  hereafter,  instead  of  being  assailed  and  van- 
quished by  the  antiehristian  powers,  is  itself  to  con- 
quer them,  and  is  to  carry  the  gospel  victoriously  to 
all  lands,  and  BWeep  from  the  earth  all  the  forms  of 
false  religion  by  which  the  nations  are  now  held  in 


' 


of  inspiration  aiil 

the  i 

od  the 

chinch    at     the  :     tin-    p] 

that   in  the 
peri  :  he  wild  beast — 

the  ruL  :  d  Roman  empire—  th< 

.ful  wit- 
I  Ihrist  by  martyri 
this  prophecy  of  their  resurrection,  a.  oing 

and  kingdom  on  the  earth,  and  then 
found  and  extinguish  the  faith  of  *  ople  in 

Lis  predictions;    and    promii  I 

a:  and  justify   their  usurpations   of  Ins  th] 
:  one.    'I 

furiously  1 
after,  than  they 

:d  theme  inly 

triumph  bis  followers  an  !  to 

more  abusive  denuuciati  I  cutting 

and  an«  to  be  swept  from  the  earth  by  a  nana-  bl 
and  inating  ition  than  at  any  other 

f  their  conflicts  I     1 1  heir 

dan.  adiously  shut  their  i 

I  futurity  proclaimed  to  as  by  such  im- 
1  pictured  in  thi 
a  form  that  the  wh 


of  349 

wciv  t«>  as,  and  the  glorious  victory  to  the  martyrs 
in  which  it  ia  to  terminate  I  '^Blessed  Is  hi  thai 
Ufctcheth  and  keepeth  hie  garments  fesl  he  walk 
naked  and  they  -  shame*' 


Tin   i 


C  II  a  p  t  i:  B    X  XIX. 

!AT    AHF.    I  '-    OOMDTG. THE  CLOSE  OF 

THE  TIRKI-H    ImMINATInN   OTKB   THE    i  —THE 

ran 

Tn  resurrection  and  ascension  of  tin-  wit: 
t.»  be  followed  by  tin-  termination  of  the 
and  the  commencement  of  tin*  third. 
woe  i-  pasl  :  behold,  tin-  third  v.  eth  quickly." 

I!    . .  \i.  11.     Tin-  second  woe  is  the  domination 
tin-  Tori  the  chui  B  man 

empire.    Under  their  cruel  and  deb 
churches  l»>n,Lr  nnmei  dthy.  and  of  a  comm 

Influence  in  the  state,  have  du 
many  once  flourishing  cities  and  populous  disti 
and  have  every  where  dwindled  into  feeblei 
decrepitude,  and  sunk  t 

ranee  and  superstition.     What  the  way  is  in  which 
the  woe  they  are  suffering  from  the  llohamme 
is  t"  terminate,  whether  by  tin-  Gall  of  the  Turkish 
power,  an<l  the  institution  of  new  governn 
by  the  i  itricatioE  churches  from 

their  dominion  and  influent  it  ion 


THE  THIRD  w«.i;.  861 

the  prophecy  does  imt  Indicate.  It  seema  most  pro- 
bable it  will  be  the  overthrow  of  the  Turkish  rule, 
;ui(l  the  substitution  of  Christian  governments  in  its 

place. 

The  third  woe  is  that  which  is  to  be  inflicted  under 
the  seventh  Vial  and  seventh  trumpet.  "And  the 
seventh  poured  his  vial  into  the  air  ;  and  there  came 
a  great  voice  out  of  the  temple  from  the  throne,  Bay- 
ing, It  is  done!  And  there  were  lightnings,  and 
voices,  and  thunders  ;  ami  there  was  a  great  earth- 
quake, such  as  there  was  not  since  men  were  upon 
the  earth,  so  mighty  an  earthquake,  so  great.  And 
the  great  city  was  divided  into  three  parts,  and  the 
cities  of  the  nations  fell.  And  great  Babylon  came 
in  remembrance  before  God,  to  give  unto  her  the 
cup  oi'  the  wine  of  the  fierceness  of  his  wrath.  And 
every  island  fled  away,  and  the  mountains  were  not 
found.  And  hail  great  as  talents  in  weight  fell  out 
of  heaven  upon  men  ;  and  men  blasphemed  God 
because  oi'  the  plague  of  the  hail,  for  its  plague  was 
very  great.*'  Chap.  xvii.  17—21.  These  symbols 
show  that  the  nations  are  now  to  be  shaken  by  the 
most  violent  convulsions  and  smitten  with  inflictions. 
Lightnings,  thunders  and  other  sounds  in  the  air, 
and  the  vibration  and  upheaving  of  the  earth,  be- 
speak analogous  commotions  and  outbreaks  in  the 
world  of  men.  and  show  that  the  whole  structure  of 
society  is  to  be  thrown  into  agitation  and  revolution. 
The  great  city  is  Babylon, the  symbol  of  the  Catholic 
nationalized  hierarchies,  and  its  separation  into  three 


pari  thai  tboi 

Into    1 1 1 :  • 

Bjmbols  of   the   nationalized   hierarchy  ither 

churches  oul  B  man  empire,  such  as 

the  Lutheran  of  Denmark  and  Sweden,  tl     G      k  of 

la  and  1 1  I  he  Armenian,  Syrian,  and  ot 

of  the  i  B  ad  their  fall 

their  denationalization,  or  Lose  of  their  ;  hich 

derive  from  the  cii  hich 

they  exist.    The  crushing  hail 
and  torturing  infliction  from  God,  under  which  i 

ad  of  repenting,  are  to  be  inflamed  h it  i 
him, and  arc  to  blaspheme  his  name.  All  ti. 
Bymbolized  under  ti  nth  vial  arc  thus  inflic- 

tions; plagues  :  the  lasl  plagues;  and  the  vial  :. 
which  they  are  poured  is  a  vial  of  wrath. 

Tl.  >wn  under  tl  :li   trumpet 

which  is  to  be  blown  simultaneously  with  the 
of  ti.  ill  vial,  arc  more  extensive,  an  I 

ifts  and  deliveranoes  to  God's  peopl  and 

dead,  as  well   as  judgmei 

the  seventh  angel  Bounded.    And  there 
voices  in  heaven  Baying  :  The  kingdom  of  the  world 
come  our  Lord's  and  his  Christ's,  and 
r  and  ever. 
••  And  the  twenty-four  elders  who 
on  their  thrones,  fell  on  their  faces  and  worshi] 

ing  :  We  thank  thee,  1 1  L  >rd,  the  Almighty 
thai  thou  b  thy 

And    i: 


i:\  EXTS  UNDER  THE  SEVENTH  TRUMPET. 

angry,  and  thy  wrath  is  come,  and  the  time  of  the 
dead  to  be  judged,  and  to  give  the  reward  to  thy 
servants  the  prophets,  and  the  holy,  and  those  who 
fear  thy  name,  small  and  great,  anld  to  destroy  those 
v\  ho  destroy  the  earth.  And  the  temple  of  God  was 
opened  in  heaven,  and  the  ark  of  his  covenant  was 
Been  in  his  temple.  And  there  were  lightnings,  and 
aid   thunders,  and   an   earthquake   and  great 

hail.v     Chap,  xi.  15-19. 

The  lightnings,  the  voices,  the  thunders,  the  earth- 
quake and  the  hail,  which  are   the   only  symbols  of 
that  elass  that  accompanied  the  sound  of  the  trum: 
are  the  same  as  those  of  the  seventh  vial,  and  den 
the  same  political  agitations  and  revolutions.     The 
voices  from  heaven  and  the  song  of  the  elders  are  not 
symbolical,  but  are  direct  announcements  of  other 
events  that  are  to  take  place  under  the  trumpet — the 
first  that  the  sovereignty  of  the  world  has  become 
Christ's  :  the  other  that  God's  wrath  is  come,  and  the 
time  of  the  dead  that  he  should  judge  and  give  re- 
ward to  his  servants  the  prophets  and  the  holy,  and 
all  who  fear  his  name,  and  should  destroy  his  enemi 
A-  these  are  uol  represented  by  symbols,  and  are  not 
expressed  in  .  but  in  the  most  simple  and  une- 

quivocal language,  there  is  no  room  for  the  fancy  that 
the  events  which  they  announce  are  not  literally  those 
which  they  foreshow.  All  pretext  lor  spiritualizing 
them  is  cut  o[}\     They  cannot  be  spiritualized,  indeed, 

ting  them  in1  msandnonse] 

What  can  God's  wrath  mean,  spiritualized?     Is  any 


CHI 

such  tiling  kno*  •  piritualized  wrath  of  (I<»<1.  in 

contradistinction  from  hi  I  wrath 7    What 

rewarding  b  1.  and  the  holy 

who  are  living,  mean  spiritualised?     li  the  passage 
spiritualized,  th<  (  pro- 

phets,  the  holy,  and  the  d  th  must 

present!  I  of  different 

orders.     Who  then  are  they  who  are  rej  I  by 

the  holy  who  are  to  receive  the  spiritual:. 
Not  human  beings  certainly  ;  for  they  must  1 
of  a  different  order  from  those  who  represent  tl. 
Who  are  the  parties  whom  the  d 
be  destroyed,  represent?    And  what  is  it  tl. 

traction  symbolizes  ?     [s  there  a  spiritual  destruc- 
tion that  i<  t<>  he  inflicted  <>ii  those  whom  the  wild 
-:  and  false  prophel  n  t,  in  distinction  from 

that  literal  destruction  which 

■  into  the  la!,  •  and  brimstone?     Will 

anyone  thus  involve  himself  in  contradicti 
absurdities  in  oi 
signification  which  cannot  he  defi 
There  i-  no  consistent  medium  1  •  that 

prophecies,  and  admitting  that  they  f 
the  coming  of  Christ,  the  resurrection  andju 
of  the  holy  dead,  and  the  judgment  and  reward  ol 
holy   Living.     X<»   legerdemain,   ho* 
it.  .-in  w  rest  from  them  that  meanii 
'  brisl  then,  it  is  indisputable,  i-  undei 
trun  -  :•  .  ■  • '       I     union  ol 

world  :  he  is  then  to  inflict  his  wrath  on  t' 


OHDEB  Tin:  BEVENTB  TRUMPET.  355 

enemies  of  his  kingdom,  and  sweep  them  to  destruc- 
tion :  he  is  then  to  judge  and  reward  aU  who  fear  his 

name,  both  .-mall  and  greal  ;  and  as  they  include  the 
living,  he  Is  then  to  judge  and  reward  all  those  who 
are  living  that  are  holy.  And  these  predictions,  it  is 
apparent  from  what  follows,  will  then  be  understood 
by  the  people  of  God,  as  revealing  these  great  events, 
and  their  verification  will  be  regarded  as  at  hand. 


Tin:  kJtGEL  in  mii-ii; 


I    II  A  PT  i:  R    X  X  X. 

EVENTS  THAT  ARK  TO  FBBCEDI  CHH  —     I 

:  I.  IN   MIIHIKAYKV,  THAT    THK    BODB 
JUDGMENT    IS    COM!. — THK    FALL    OF    1; 
.   To  FAY  HOMAGE  T«»  THK  CIVIL 

■ 

IMA' 

:h    tnim 
the   angel   flying   through   mid-heaven   havi 

el,  will  announc  that 

the  hour       I      l's  jadgmenl  has  come.    "  And 
another  :ni.Lr»'l  flying  in  said-heaven,  having  the  < 
1  to  proclaim  to  those  who  dwell  on 
iry  nation,  and  t 
peop  ing  with  a  loud  \ 

ry,  fur  tlie  hour  of  his  judgment  i 
ami  worship  ye  him  \\  li« >  made  the  heaven,  and  the 

earth,  and  sr;t,  ami   fountains  Of  ' 

The  hour  -  jadgmenl  of  the  lii 

tions  t«»  whom  this  announcement  is  t<>  be  ma'! 
time  in  which  1  judge  them, 

.  -nth  trnn 


ANNOUNCING  THE  HOUB  OF  GOD'S  JUDGMENT.      '■>■>! 

31-46 ;  and  is  to  accept  and  reward  those  of  them  who 
are  obedient,  and  condemn  and  destroy  those  of  them 
who  are  his  enemies.  The  angel  vestured  in  Light, 
;  flying  through  the  high  regions  of  the  air  where 
all  eyes  can  see  him,  is  the  symbol  of  an  order  of  men 
who  are  in  a  conspicuous  and  impressive  manner  to 
proclaim  the  everlasting  gospel  to  the  nations  of  the 
earth,  and  warn  them  that  the  time  has  arrived  when 
God  Is  to  judge  them,  and  assign  them  everlasting 
rewards,  according  as  they  are  or  arc  not  his  worship- 
pers, and  to  exhort  them  to  fear  and  adore  him. 
This  indicates  that  the  ministers  of  the  gospel,  or  at 
Least  a  Large  and  conspicuous  body  of  them,  will  at 
that  time  understand  the  predictions  under  the  sev- 
enth trumpet,  as  announcing  the  Bpeedy  coming  of 
Christ  to  establish  his  throne  on  the  earth,  to  1 
and  glorify  his  dead  saints,  to  judge  and  reward  his 
Living  eleet,  and  to  destroy  his  incorrigible  enemies. 
The  perversion  of  the  Scriptures  by  spiritualization 
will  then  have  ceased.  The  great  revelations  God 
lias  made  of  his  purposes,  will  he  received  in  their 
natural  and  true  meaning  :  and  the  dreams  of  a  re- 
demption id'  the  world  by  human  instrumentalities, 
and  of  a  millennial   kingdom  without  its  king  and  its 

o 

risen  Baints,  now  so  fondly  cherished  by  multitudes, 
will  have  given  way  to  the  joyous  expectation  and 
I'lur's  coming  and  reign  in  power 
and  glory,  ami  continuance  of  his  redemptive  work 
through  everlasting  a 

This  proclamation  that  the  hour  of  God's  judg 


:;>  Tin. 

lias  c  >me,  is  Boon  to  b€  followed  by  the  annouj 

of  men  i 
in  the  fall  of  Babylon.    "  Ana  there  folio 

I  ibj  Ion  is  {alien,  ifl  fallen,  t 
<  in .  11  nations  drink  of  I 

of  her  fornication."  Chap.  xiv.  8.     And  an 

ems  from  chap,  sviii.  1  id  of  flyii 

the  high  of  the  air,  i 

and  :  aouncement. 

things  I  saw  another  ang  ■■■.  n  from  heaven 

having  greal  power  :  and  the  earth  waa  Lighted  with 
his  glory.    And  he  cried  mightily  with  a  - 
saying,  Babylon  the  great  ifl  fallen,  ifl  fallen,  an 

ime  the  habitation  of  demons,  and  the  hold  of 
every  foul  spirit,  an  unclean  and 

hateful  bird.  For  all  nations  have  drunk  of  the  wine 
of  the  fury  of  her  fornication,  and  the  b  the 

earth  have  committed  fornication  with  her,  and  the 
merchants  of  the  earth  arc  waxed  rich  through  the 
abundance  of  her  delicacies.'1    T  /       like  that 

with  the  everlasting  gospel,  are  Bymbolfl  of  l 
men,  who  ar<  and  proclaim  to  the  nations  the 

fall  of  Babylon,  by  the  judgment  of  God  be< 

great  Bins.    She  ifl  Bpoken  of  chiefly  as  a  woman. 
Her  artfl  as  such,  and  her  seduction  of  the  nations 

kting  cup.  arc  Bymbols  of  h 
from  her  covenant  with  God  to  the  h< 
an<l  i«l<»l<.  and  allurement  and  compulsion  of  the 
tions  b)  her  to  join  in  li«  wor- 

ship.    II<  i  fall  •.'  cordingly  is  her  dejection  from 


THK  PALL  OF  B  kBl  l. 

staii. ut  t.n  ilu'  wild  beast,  chap.  wii.  :'»,  and  signifies 
the  tall  of  the  hierarchies  which  Bhe  symbolizes  from 
their  position  as  nationalized  by  the  civil  govern- 
ments; not  their  annihilation  j  for  they  are  to  snl 
after  their  fall,  and  be  a  station  for  demons  and  mon- 
sters, as  the  literal  Chaldean  Babylon  on  its  overthrow 
became  the  abode  of  the  mosl  hideous  and  detestable 
animals.  Her  destruction  is  to  take  place  at  a  later 
period,  and  by  the  hands  of  the  people,  not  of  the 
rulers.  The  splendor  of  the  angel  who  lighted  the 
earth  with  his  glory,  indicate-  that  those  whom  lie 
represents  are  to  be  persons  of  great  distinction  and 
influence  :  and  their  proclamation  of  her  fall  from  her 
connection  with  the  states  that  have  sustained  her, 
given  her  power  to  tyrannize  and  persecute,  and  exe- 
cuted her  bloody  decrees,  shows  that  the  people  of 
God  will  regard  it  as  an  event  of  the  greatest  moment, 
and  deem  it  essential  that  it  should  be  contemplated 
as  the  act  of  God's  vengeance  in  retribution  of  her 
sins. 

This  public  and  emphatic  announcement  by  thoso 
whom  tlu-  angel  represents  that  she  is  hurled  from 
her  lofty  station,  because  of  her  infidelity  to  God  and 

.-eduction  of  the  nations  from  his  worship  to  the  hom- 
age of  demons  and  id.»l-.  seems  eminently  proper, 
both  as  a  vindication  of  God,  and  justification  of  th 
who  have  resisted  her  -way.  and  as  a  confutation  of 
her  Impious  Usurpations  and  claims.  Her  vas-als  are 
not  to  be  left  to  regard  her  fall  as  a  mere  natural 
event  that  presents  no  index  of  her  character.     The 


Tli 

natu  •  in  doubt  what  the  judgment 

. 

the  fall  of  Babylon  i 
followed  by  a  warning  to  the  nation 
more  the  homage  t-»  the  beast  and  it-  rhich 

they  *  ill  Btill  endei  '    d  anothi 

third  angel,  followed  them,  saying  with  ■  loud  \ 
orship  tin-  wild  nd  its  in 

a  mark  on  bis  forehead,  or  on  his  hand,  he 
drink  of  the  win  •  wrath  of  I 

poured  out  unmixed  into  the  bia  indignation, 

shall  be  tormented  in  fire  and  brim 
the   holy  angel8,  and  before   the    Laml  , 
smoke  of  their  torm 

And  they  have  no  rest  day  and  night  \  'ship 

wild  beast  and  its  image,  and  whoever  receives 
the  mark  of  its  nam<  ,     1 1 

saints,  who  keep  th<  faith 

And  I  heard  a  voice  from 

Write.  BleSSed  are  the  .lead,  who  her 

Lord  :  yea,  saitb  the  Spirit,  that  they  may  r< 
their  toils,  and  their  works  follow  with  them."'  < 

MY.    9      \->. 

This  angel,  like  those  that  pi 

a  body  of  eminent    men   who  are   in  a  public  and  iin- 

manner  to  utter  tl  ing  against  wor- 

shipping tli-  and  its  image  ;   and  pr 

on  those  who  sutler  martyrdom  rather 
than  Bwerve  from  their  allegi  I  wild 

i  i-  i he  symbol  of  the  civil  rulere 


HOT  TO  WORSHIP  Tin-:  :.  R  its  imaoi:.       361 

•an  empire  :  Tin4  image  is  the  symbol  of  the  Ca- 
tholic hierarchy  of  thai  empire,  or  whole  body  of  Qa? 
tholic  clergy  with  the  pope  as  their  head,  which  is 
modeled  after  the  imperial  menl  at  the  time 

of  the  vision,  and  is  for  thai  called  the  lb 

of  the  wild  beast.  To  worship  the  wild  beast  and  its 
image,  Is  to  acknowledge  and  Bubmit  to  the  claims 
and  commands  of  the  civil  rulers  and  the  papal  eccle- 
in  which  they  usurp  the  prerogatives  of  God, 
and  legislate  <>\  er  his  laws  as  though  they  hadsupreme 
authority  over  religion  itself,  and  could  determine 
who  or  what  men  shall  worship,  and  what  acts  or  ser- 
in he  the  means  and  conditions  of  salvation: 
— a  submission  to  which  is  equivalent  to  an  ascription 
to  the  beast  and  image  of  the  rights  of  God.  Any 
one  who  after  this  warning  deifies  and  worships  them 
in  that  manner,  and  thereby  in  effect  denies  that  God 
is  his  supreme  lawgiver,  and  that  it  belongs  to  him 
alone  to  determine  the  method  of  salvation,  is  to  drink 
the  unmixed  wine  of  God's  wrath.  He  is  not  to  be 
1  from  that  doom  by  being  led  by  the  Spirit  to 
repentance.  lie  is  not  to  be  forgiven.  The  only 
measure  God  will  take  with  him  will  be  to  present  to 
him  the  cup  of  his  indignation  ;  to  consign  him  to  the 
-  in  which  the  incorrigible  are  for  over  to  be  tor- 
mented. The  warning  indicates  that  the  powers 
symbolized  by  the  boast  and  its  image  will  still  per- 
sist in  their  impious  claims  to  dictate  the  religion  of 
the  people,  and  that  there  will  1  ::s  who  will 

be  tempted  to  vield  to  them  :  And  the  announcement, 

16 


\    l:l 


•■  II. 'iv  is  the  pati< 

I  the 

I   ; an •   tli< 

atu-r  die  in  the  Lord  ;  • .   \     3] 

m  their  toil  eir  works  follow 

then  A  the  civil  j  -mi  the  Catholic 

>n8train  obedience  to 
their  impious  dictation.     Th(  jnnc- 

tnre,  aa  well  as  al  the  period  when  the  witnei 
slain,  to  Bhow  their  Bteadfaal  all- 
persecution  rather  than  unite  in  rship  ol 

church,  and  t  them  i 

their  lives  for  Chric 

the  two  parties  is  thus  to  continue  to  the  last.    T 
antichristian  po\  not  to  I 

ance  by  the  judgments  with  which  they  are  Bmii 
T  si  and  false  prophet  mtinue  I 

ind  mak<  th<    Lamb  and  b 

till  he  inter] 


Till:  SEALING  OF  THE  BEBVANTS  OF  GOD, 


CHAPTER    XXXI. 

EVENTS  THAT  ARE  TO  PRECEDE  CUEIST'S  COMING. THE    SEAI.IX 

THE  SERVANTS  OF  GOD. THE  DESTRUCTION  OK  BABYLON. SHINS 

OF  I  HONG  IN  THE  HEAVEN   J     AND  ON  THE   EARTH. 

It  is  at  this  period  of  persecution,  it  is  probable, 
that  the  sealing  of  the  servants  of  God  which  is  ! 

mi  under  the  sixth  seal,  is  to  take  place.  "And 
after  this,  I  saw  four  angels  standing  at  the  four 
corners  of  the  earth,  having  power  over  the  four 
winds  of  the  earth,  that  the  wind  should  not  blow  on 
the  earth,  nor  on  the  sea,  nor  on  any  tree.  And  I 
saw  another  angel  ascending  from  the  sun-rising, 
having  the  seal  of  the   livii  .     And  he   cried 

with  a  loud  '  the  four  angels  to  whom  it 

'i  to  hurt  the  earth  and  the  sea  ;  sajing,  Hurt 
not  the  earth, nor  the  Bea,nor  the  trees,  until  kre  can 
•  ants  of  our  God  on  their  foreheads.   And 
I  heard  the  number  of  the  sealed,  a  hundred  forty- 
four  thousand  w<        -  at  of  the  whole  race  of 

the  son<  of  Israel."  Chap.  vii.  1- -l.  The  angel  from 
the  sun-rising  is  the  symbol  of  a  body  of  meu  wfto 
are  to  exert  the  agency  which  is  denoted  by  his 


THE  SEALING  OF  1 


ing  the  bun  rnr  thousand  oT  the  Bona  of 

I.    Th< 
od  their  forehi  not  to  constitute  them 

I.  hut   to  make  it    1 1 1 : 1 1 1 i t ■  that 

the.  m.Ii.      1: 

weir  marked  by  tin*  impr< 

that  which  '  is  in  like' 

tier  t<>  be  i 1 

re  to  b<  \  isibly  and  <!  ibly  such,  to 

■  w  bo  behold  them.    The  tiweY  .  the 

-  of  Israel,  are  symbols  of  the  denominatioi 
bodies  of  th<    (         tian  chnrch  from  which  tl 

to  be  taken,  on  whom  the  agency 

:.      A-  i 

ing  I  I 

bators  thai  they  were  I  I  - 

that  whi.h  the  symbolL 

i  make  i:  manifest  that   I 

-  of  it  arc  the  Bervan  I  hat 
is,  is  Indicated  in  the  d  ion  «'i*  the  hundred 
forty-four  thousand,  aa  they  app<  with 
the  Lamb  on  Mount  Zion,  having  his  name,  and 

name    of    hlfl    Father    written    on    their 

where  it  an  as  their   chi  "1 

they  wen-  not  defiled  with  women  ;   for  r 

."     Chap.  liv,    1.     Being  defiled  with 
i>  the  Bymbol  of  being  Bednced  to  the  false  worship 
of  the  a;  thood  r.  ted  by  the  harlol 

l..n  and  her  daughters.     That  which  i- 
ally  t<>  distinguish  those  re] 


THK  SEALING  OF  Tin:  BEBVAHTS  Of  OOD.  365 

then,  is,  thai  it  is  to  be  made  manifest  to  all  i 
that  they  are  the  servants  of  God  by  their  maintain- 
ing  a  Bpotlesa  allegiance  to  Christ,  and  refusing  to 
yield  to  the  seductions  of  the  idolatrous  hierarchies, 
ami  the  compulsion  of  the  civil  rulers  to  sanction 
their  usurpations  of  authority  over  the  church,  and 
to  join  in  their  superstitious  and  idolatrous  worship. 
The  office  of  those  whom  the  sealing  angel  symbol- 
.  is  accordingly  to  be  to  prompt  or  cause  them  to 
give  that  public  proof  of  their  allegiance  to  Chrisf. 
It  may  be  by  instruction,  counsel,  exhortation,  un- 
folding their  duty  to  Christ,  depicting  the  guilt  of 
apostasy,  pointing  them  to  the  rewards  with  which 
their  fidelity  will  be  immediately  crowned.  That 
reward  is  not  improbably  a  transfiguration  to  glory. 
For  '•  these,"  it  is  added.  "  have  been  redeemed  from 
men,  the  first  fruits  to  God  and  to  the  Lamb,  and  in 
their  mouths  was  found  no  falsehood  ;  for  they  are 
blameless."  Chap.  xiv.  4,  5.  As  they  are  to  be  dis- 
tinguished from  others  by  the  indubitable  proofs  they 
exhibit  of  their  allegiance  to  Christ,  so  they  are  to 
be  distinguished  by  him  from  others  by  being  the 
first  of  living  men  who  are  to  obtain  a  perfect  re- 
demption. The  Bong  they  an;  to  Bing  accordingly, 
it  is  said,  no  one  can  Learn  but  themselves — Bhowing 
that    there    i  uliarity  in   God's   dealings  with 

them,  with  which  no  othi  to  be  distinguished. 

-  eminently  appropriate  that  the  first  of  the 
living  who  are  thus  transformed  to  glory  and  raised 
to  the  most  intimate  relations  to  Christ.  Bhould  be 


. 


wliu    I,; 

of  their  inflexible  allegi  tn,    'I 

Lisplay  do   Buch  al<  Lity,  l»ut 

ontinue  und<  of  the 

r  their  denationalizatioi  a  from  the  Bum- 

mons  to  them  to  come  out  i  t    B  fill. 

*    \ 

<  pie,  ih.it  ye  be  i 

of  li  and  thai 

Chap,  xviii.  1. 
This  warning  of  tl. 

►on  to  be  follow*  n. — 

and  annihilation 
a   city   by   a   conflagration  :    but    tin 
which  the  hierarchies  I : 
Bwepl   from  the  earth,  arc  want,  sorrov 

instruments   with   which   ti 
pie  to  i' 

able 
i  her  works.     Enfc i  tfie  cup  aich 

has   poured,   pour   to   her  doable.     As    much 
glorified  herself  and  lived  luxuriously, 
bo  much   torment   give   her  and   Borrow.     B 
in  her  hcari  1      i   a  queen,  and  am 

a  widow,  and   I  cannot  sec  Borrow  :   therefore   in 
<iiic   day  her    plagues   Bhall  death  and    - 

and    famine,   and   she    Bhall   be   burned   with 
:  for  mighty  Lb  the   I-     I  God  who  has  jud 

(  'hap.  xviii.  li    S.       And    i  .icliuii    ifl 

be  the  work  of  the  people  whom  -  deluded 


Tin:  DESTRUCTION  OF  BABYLON.  3G7 

her  sorceries,  and  crushed  by  her  tyranny  :  nol  the 
civil  rulers  ;  for  they  are  to  stand  onresisting  spec- 
tators^ of  her  overthrow,  and  lament  it.  "And  the 
kings  of  the  earth  who  have  committed  fornication 
and  lived  luxuriously  with  her,  when  standing  afar 
for  Tear  of  her  torment,  they  see  the  smoke  of  her 
burning,  shall  lament  and  mourn,  saying  :  Alas,  alas, 
thegreal  city  Babylon,  the  mighty  city  :  for  in  one  hour 
lias  thy  judgment  come  I"  And  the  destruction  is  to  be 
complete.  "  And  a  mighty  angel  took  up  a  stone  like  a 
great  millstone,  and  east  it  into  the  sea,  saying,  Thus 
with  violence  shall  the  great  city  Babylon  he  casl 
down,  and  shall  not  he  found  any  more."  "Rejoice 
over  her,  0  heaven,  and  the  saints,  and  the  apostles, 
and  the  prophets,  for  God  has  avenged  your  condem- 
nation by  her!"  v.  21,  20.  The  apostles  and  pro- 
phets wh<»m  .-he  has  condemned,  the  martyrs  on  whorn 
she  has  wreaked  her  vengeance  from  ago  to  age,  will 

in  the  storm  that  sweeps  her  to  ruin  a  vindication 

mT  themselves.     The  angels  who  have  witnessed  her 

career  will  rejoice  in  her  end  as  a  fitting  display 

of  God's  righteousness  and  a  just  retribution  of  her 

sins.     What  a  verification  it  will  form  of  his  supre- 

y.  his  holiness,  and  his  truth  !  And  what  impres- 
sions will  it  make  in\  those  of  God's  people  who  sur- 
vive !  What  a  confutation  of  her  impious  claims  that 
she  is  the  church  of  Clod,  the  bride  of  Christ,  and  of 
supreme  authority  in  religion,  will  the  avenging 
thunderbolts  by  which  she  is  dashed  to  perdition 


TH! 

form  !     A  ill  wh.it  a  rid  >rld  will  her 

extinction  l  • 

II  truction,  accordii 

to  the  i  ,  ;         ( (hap.  n 1;--  -  ^telj 

followed  riptions  of  righteou 

Bommoi  inhabit 

of  the  earth  and  praise  him.  i 

a  loucl  \  multitnd 

ing,  Alleluia  :      i  I  vat  ion, 

glory,  and  i  G      ' 

righteous  arc  his  ju  I  the 

i  harlot,  that  corrupted  the  earth  with  her  t 
cation  ;  and  1  the  I  I  i  ■  ■!  of 

from  her  hand.     And  again  1  I,  AUelui    I 

tli.-  four  and  and  the  lour  In  i 

fares,  tell  and  worshippi 

.  :   Alleluia. 

from  the  thro: 
our  God,  all  him, 

small  and  great.     A 

■at   lnultitll'i    .  •  of  l.iali 

thunders,  saying  :  Alleluia  ; 
the  Lord  God  Almighty  I 

and  emit,  and  give  I  ihim;  for  the  mar: 

of  the  L  unh  b  I  hia  bri 

*  ..  i  7.     As  1 

I 
into  tli.  :aall  and  •  bich  an 

culiaritiea  of  human  beings,  it  is  1 


SIGHS  OF  CHI,  PBOAOH. 

Their  response  therefore  implies  thai  the  people  of 
God  universally  are,  at  this  epoch,  to  know  thai  Christ 
has  assumed  the  Bceptre  of  the  world,  and  that  he  is 
about  to  raise  his  saints  from  the  grave,  and  exalt 
them  to  their  stations  as  kings  and  priests  in  his 
kingdom,  which  is  the  event  denoted  by  his  consti- 
tuting them  his  bride.  They  will  look  accordingly 
for  1  lily  appearing  to  destroy  the  wild  beast 

and  its  armies,  who  will  he  gathered  to  contend  with 
him  at  Armageddon.  "  Behold  I  come  as  a  thief. 
Blessed  is  he  that  watcheth  and  keepeth  his  garments, 
he  walk  naked  and  they  see  his  shame." 
Before  his  advent,  however,  there  are  t.>  1 
in  heaven,  that  are  to  indicate  his  approach.  "  I  will 
show  wonders  in  the  heavens  and  on  the  earth.  M 
and  fire  and  pillars  of  smoke.  The  sun  shall  be  turned 
into  darkness,  and  the  moon  into  blood,  before  the 
great  and  the  terrible  day  of  the  Lord  comes."  Joel 
ii.  30,  31.  '"  And  there  shall  be  signs  in  the  sun,  and 
in  the  moon,  and  in  the  stars;  and  upon  the  earth 
distress  of  nations  with  perplexity  ;  the  sea  and  the 
waves  roaring  :  men's  hearts  failing  them  for  fear, 
and  for  looking  after  those  things  which  are  coming 
on  the  earth  ;  for  the  powers  of  heaven  -hall  he  sha- 
ken. And  then  shall  they  see  the  Son  of  Man  com- 
ing  in  a  cloud  with  power  and  great  glory."  Luke 
xxi.  25  27,  Matt.  xxiv.  29,  BO.  At  length  the  light 
of  his  glory  18  to  flash  on  the  world,  and  all  eyes  are 
to  see  him  descending  with  his  infinite  train  of  atten- 
dants, and   all   hearts    tremble    at    his    majesty  and 

16* 


'.<  II. 

powi  :i  are  tl 

and  herald  Christ's  coming  :  inch  ii  I 
tainty  thai   it   ii 

trompel  and  seventh  via]  at  the  commencemei 
hii  thousand 


PROPHETIC  PERIODS  OF  DANIEL  AND  JOHN.         871 


CHAPTER    XXXII. 

THE  PROPHETIC  PERIODS  OF  THE  APOCALYPSE  AND  DANIEL. 

NBABLY  all  the  recent  expositors  of  Daniel  and 
John,  whether  Millenarian  or  Anti-millenarian,  re- 
gard the  times  of  the  domination  of  the  powers  de- 
noted by  the  ten-horned  wild  beast,  the  testimony 
of  the  witnesses  in  sackcloth,  and  the  wearing  out  of 
the  saints  by  the  eleventh  horn  of  the  beast,  as  to 
terminate  not  far  from  the  present  period.  Some 
writers,  twenty  or  thirty  years  ago,  assigned  their 
end  with  great  confidence  to  1843  and  1847,  and  have 
not  only  been  confuted  by  events,  but  have  thrown, 
by  their  misjudgment  and  rashness,  much  discredit 
on  the  study  of  the  prophetic  Scriptures.  A  far 
greater  number  have  referred  their  close  to  1864, 
L866,  or  L868,and  others  Btill  to  1880.  The  near  ap- 
proach of  those  periods,  renders  it  peculiarly  impor- 
tant that  the  grounds  on  which  they  are  held  by  their 
adv  .  be  the  time  when  the  twelve  hundred 

and  sixty  years  shall  end.  should  be  carefully  exam- 
ined, and  the  people  of  God — if  that  view  is  mista- 
ken— put  on  their  guard  against  a  disappointment. 


of  the  •  the  fall  of 

in  L864,  L866,  l  ••  - 
would  [  <1  drive 

tin  in  into  perplexity,  di 

■  rrora  in  th< 
fix  on  i  which  it  ifl  \m\  hould  be 

I.  Some  "t"  them  found  their  calcu] 

en    pi  abolicaJ  of  time, 

and  haw 
Thus  M r.  Pal  -  that  a  prophetic  } 

.il>olixii;_    _  '  _  1  iii 

Daniel  as  the  duration  of  the  four  g 
Darchiea  re]  1  by  tin 

and  makes  thai  assumption  the  basis  of  his  pi 
i 

He  point,  and  B] 
to  it.  as  though  it  w<  of  the  most  indubil 

and  important  el 
gether,  b 

iod  is  i..  I  by  the  prophet.     T 

mcein  which 
l.vhim.i-  in  \ 
and 

during  which  thai  monarch  wi 
driven  from  bid  throi  nd  live  with 

.     ] 

i  reveal    L1     D  iniel,  which  exhibits 
\   buchado 


CHRONOLOGICAL  PRH  378 

of  his  and  the  other  great  Gentile  dynasties  ;  the 
hewing  down  of  the  tree  as  representing  his  being 
driven  from  bia  throne  and  people  to  dwell  with  the 
beasta  of  the  field  :  the  seven  times  aa  signifying  the 
running  in  that  degraded  state  ; 
and  the  preservation  of  the  stump  of  the  tree,  as  de- 
noting the  preservation  of  bis  kingdom,  for  restora- 
tion to  him,  on  his  recovering  his  reason,  and  recog- 
nizing his  subordination  to  Jehovah.  Mr.  Fabcr's 
theory  is  therefore  a  sheer  invention,  without  any 
authority  from  the  prophecy.  The  effect  CO] 
qucntly  of  his  asserting  it  with  conlidenee,  and  giv- 
ing it  a  conspicuous  place  in  his  Calendar  of  Pro- 
phecy, has  been  to  discredit  his  judgment,  and  Lead 
the  critical  reader  to  feel  that,  without  a  careful  ex- 
amination of  his  grounds,  little  reliance  is  to  be  placed 
on  his  constructions.  The  Rev.  E.  B.  Elliott  also 
falls  into  the  same  error,  and  founds  it  expressly  <>n 
the  seven  times,  that  were  the  measure  of  Nebuchad- 
nezzar's deprivation  of  his  throne  and  reason. 

Erroneous  chronological  calculations  have  also  been 
founded  on  the  hour,  and  day,  and  month,  and  year, 
Rev,  ix.  15, on  the  assumption  that  they  are  symbols 
of  the  duration  of  the  Turkish  woe  :  they,  however, 
simply  denote  the  commencement,  or  at  most  the 
period  of  the  slaughters,  which  were  to  be  inflicted  by 
the  armies  under  the  command  of  those  denoted  by 
thc  "And  the  four  angels  were   loosed,  who 

had  been  prepared  for  the  hour  and  day.  and  month 
and  year,  that  they  might  slay  a  third  of  the  men." 


Bui  the  slaughters  were  not  commei 

They  were  chiefly  confined  to  the  four  j»< -: 
of  invasion  and  conquest,  ui 

l'\  the  four  angels.  tinned  without 

intermiasion  for  *  *  i  lt  1 1 1  cental 
II.  Writers  have  £allen into  im  also 

which  they  regard  i 
mining  the  commencement  of  the 
Bixty  3  ears. 

Thus  Mr.  Cunninghame  and  manyothe 
period  from  the  letter  of  Justinian  in  A.  D. 
which  he  addressed  Pope  John  II.  as  th<  ;'  all 

the  holy  churches  and  all  the  holy  pri 

imption  that  it  then  ad  to  the  Roman 

bishop  the  supremacy  which  it  ascribed  to  him. 

s  delivery  of  the  saints,  the  tin 
the  laws  into  his  hands.    J *ut  thai  is  s  mistai 
r  confers  no  authority  wh 

imply  that  the  patriarch 
<it'  Rome  was  held  to  be  the  head  of  the  church  in 
othei  than  that  his  patriarchate  had  tl 

dence  in  rank  and  honor  of  the  others,  and  that  har- 
mony with  it  was  deemed  n< 

unity  of  the  church.    The  letter  re]  lusively 

to  the  churches  of  i  ■  ■ .  and  tl. 

in  it  was.  to  make  known  to  the  bishop 
I  >me  on  the  one  hand,  what  the  doctrin 
that  were  maintained  in  those  churches  by  the  u 
rial  authority ;  and  on  the  other,  what  the  hew 
that  were  denoun< 


Till:  TWELVE  BUNDRED  A\I»  SIXTY  FEARS.         376 

to  ask  of  liim  an  expression  of  his  concurrence  in 
those  doctrines  and  measures  ;  not  thai  the  pope  had 
any  mi.  re  authority  over  the  doctrines  of  the  church, 
or  the  church  itself,  than  Justinian  himself  had,  but 
only  that  the  emperor  mighl  ose  the  pope's  judgment 
irroborate  his  own,  and  command  the  acquiescence 
o(  his  Bubjects  in  the  faith  he  was  enforcing.* 

Nor  could  Justinian,  had  lie  attempted  it,  have  con- 
ferred any  authority  on  the  pope  over  the  churches 
of  the  western  empire;  as  that  empire  was  no  longer 
under  his  dominion,  but  had  passed  under  the  juris- 
diction of  the  Goths.  He  had  not  a  solitary  inch  of 
territory,  nor  a  subject  in  Italy,  the  northern  coast  of 
Africa,  or  the  kingdoms  wesl  and  north  of  the  Alps. 
To  have  affected  to  confer  on  the  pope  authority  over  . 
the  churches  and  people  of  those  regions,  would  have 
been  an  invasion  of  the  prerogatives  claimed  by  the 
western  monarchs,  and  a  mockery.  The  whole  fancy 
therefore  that  the  letter  was  a  decree,  that  it  invested 
the  pope  with  supreme  authority  overall  the  churches 
of  the  ten  kingdoms  of  the  west,  which  is  the  sp]  i 
of  his  agency,  and  that  it  determines  the  date  of  the 
delivery  of  the  saints  into  his  hands,  is  mistaken.  To 
_:i  that  office  to  it.  is  as  groundless  as  it   were   to 

ascribe  it  to  any  other  letter  from  Justinian,  or  impe- 
rial decree,  in  which  no  allusion  is  made  to  the  church 
of  Rome. 

Oti  Ejard   the   letter  of  Phocas,  emperor  of 

Constantinople,  to  Boniface   iii.  in  A.  D.  GOO. 
*  Labbei  Concilia,  torn,  viii.  pp.  795,  TOG. 


376      !  i:i: 


Btitu  the  be  church, 

and  deliveri  Into 

his  hands  :    bu1   thai    is  equally  mi  I 

had  do  authority  to  delh er  the  chui 
era  empire  into  the  han 
for  he  had  do  jurisdiction  over  them  an;  than 

his  pred  Justinian.     Etta  jurisdiction  at  the 

Dfined  to  the  exarchate  i     B  < 1  una,  and 
i  Blight  that  Gregory  thi  : 
before  the  emperor'c  ,hadmad<  with  the 

Lombards,  without  t]  t  of  the  Byzantine  court. 

Every  other  pari  of  th<  n  empire  was  wholly 

independent  of  the  Greeks.     A     I 
had  no  authority  over  thu  churches  and  peop] 
the  west,  he  could,  not,  had  he  at(  it,  have 

confe  rred  on  Boniface  any  right  or  power  over  tl 
Bui  Phocae  made  do  attempt  to  confer  any  authority 
on  tl  d  pontiff.    He  only  in  a  letter  writt 

customar}    in   answer  to  a  n<  I 
ration    of    Boniface   to   the    pa] 
and  promised  that  the  title  univ 
plied  to  the  I  B  me  alom         I  to  1        ishop 

of  Constantinople.  P  B  manum  P 

tificem  esse  dicendum  (Ecomenicum,  oempe  I 
Bslem    Episcopum  ;     Gonstantinopolitanum    nequa- 
quam.     H  quidem   ipsum   Bonifacium  ab  eo  obti- 
Duisc  i  testatur.     Sic,  inquit, 

obtinuii  apud  Phocam  Principem,  ul 
beati  >li,  caput  esse!  omnium  E  rum, 

B       oa  ecclesia  ;  quia  e  I       jtantino- 


OF  Tin:  TWELVE  BUNDBED  AND  sixty  FEARS.      377 

politana  primam  Be  omnium  Ecclesiarum  Bcribebat.* 
'•  Be  promised  thai  the  Roman  Pontiff  alone  should  be 
called  ecumenical,  that  is  universal  bishop  :  the  Con- 
Btantinopolitan  Bhonld  not.  The  language  of  Anas- 
tasius  who  relates  it,  is,  lie  obtained  from  the 
emperor  Phocas  that  the  apostolic  seat,  that  is  the 
Roman  church,  should  be  bead  of  all  the  churches, 
and  because  the  Constantinopolitan  church  had 
claimed  that  title."  But  that  title  was  not  then  first 
applied  to  the  Roman  church.  It  had  been  claimed 
and  assumed  by  the  pontiffs,  often  and  long  before." 
The  letter  of  Phocas  accordingly  conferred  no 
authority,  but  only  sanctioned  the  exclusive  use  of 
a  title  it  had  long  arrogated,  and  which  then  meant 
little  more  than  that  tho  Roman  church  had  the  prece- 
dence in  rank  and  authority  of  all  others.  It  is  wholly 
mistaken,  therefore,  to  regard  the  emperor's  letter  as 
a  decree,  delivering  the  saints,  the  times,  and  the 
laws  into  the  pope's  hands,  and  determining  the  com- 
mencement of  the  twelve  hundred  and  sixty  years. 

III.  Another  important  error  into  which  many 
writers  have  fallen,  is  the  assumption  that  the  termi- 
nation of  the  twelve  hundred  and  sixty  years,  is  to  be 
the  epoch  of  Christ's  second  advent,  and  the  wild 
beast's  destruction.  The  twelve  hundred  and  sixty 
years,  however,  instead  of  being  the  measure  of  the 
wild  beast's  life,  is  only  the  measure  of  its  career  in 
the  form  it  assumed  on  the  fall  of  tho  seventh  head, 
and  the  transference  of  the  crowns  from  the  heads 

*  Baronii.  Annal.,  torn.  viii.  pp.  198. 


TH1  V  WHICH  THE 

to  the  horns.     It  i«  rrom  th< 

Rev.  xiii.  1.  in  it-  form  under  the  supr< 
lion  G   thicdyni  to  which  power  was  given 

to  acl  forty  and  two  months,  and  make  war  with 

»me  them.     Bu1  after  it  baa  (alien  in 
that  form,  it  is  to  rise  again  ont  of  hades,  in  anot 

e,  run  a  .-hurt  <•.  a  blasphem< 

cutor  in  alliance  with  the  Etonian  church,  and  then 

to  perdition.  In  thai  last  form  it  is  to  1 
the  sway  of  an  eighth  imperial  chief,  and 
kings  of  that  ] >t- rii ><  1  are  Bubordii 

chief,  and  give  their  power  to  him."     \l<  v.  *vii.  11 
12.    The  end  of  the  twelve  hundred  and  Bixty  y< 
then,  is  n«>t  to  be  the  epoch  of  ( 
the  final  destruction  of  the  wild  [1        till  to 

Bubsisl  in  a  modified  form,  and  make  war  with 
Lamb,  to  intercept  him  from  assuming  ptre 

of  the  world;  and  it  is  in  that  impious  attempt  that 

I  l     .'.    !  in  that    Bha] 

mtinue,  must  he  left  t<>  the  i  termine. 

It  i<  not  improbably  through  the  thirty  years  thai 
to  intervene  between  twelve  hundred  and  sixty,  and 

Ive  hundred  and  ninety.    Thai 
signalized  by  the  Bealing  probably  of  the  servanti 
God,  the  proclamation  of  th<  I  to  all  nati 

and  the  overthrow  of  Bi  bylon, and  is  to  I  1  by 

the  com.:  I  Shrist  ami  destruction  of  the  po* 

denoted  by  the  wild  beast,  false  proph( 

arm: 

errors  th<  n,  let  as  u 


WERE  DELIVERED  TO  THE  PAPACY.       379 

the  act  was  of  the  delivery  oft  lie  saints  into  the  power 
of  the  eleventh  horn,  who  the  agent  was  of  thai  de- 
Livery,  and  when  it  toofe  place. 

IV.    What  t hen  was  the  nature  of  the  act  by  which 
the  saints  v.viv  delivered  into  the  power  of  the  little 
horn    which    was    to   wear    theni    out,   and    think 
change  times  and  laws?     Its  nature  and  source   are 
seen  from  the  nature   and  source  of  the  power  by 
which  the  papacy  denoted  by  the  horn,  persec 
and  has  persecuted   the   saints  of  the  Most  High  in 
the   ten   kingdoms   through  a  long  series  of  ag 
That  power  is,  and  lias  been  at  every  Btage  of  its 
exercise,  derived  from  the  civil  government.     The 
I    hierarchy   lias   had    authority   and    power    to 
secute   dissentients    from   its    faith,   only  when 
the   civil   governments  of  those  kingdoms  refused 
to    tolerate    and    protect    dissentients,     and    made 
their  non-submission  to  the  Roman  church  a  crim- 
inal  offense.     Whenever   the   civil    government   of 
any  ni^  those  kingdoms  has  tolerated  and  protec 
dissent,   then    the    Catholic   hierarchy   has    lost    the 
pow  rsecute  non-romanists  in  that  kingdom. 

of  the  church  to  persecute  is  thus  de- 
rived wholly  from  the  civil  government  ;  and  in  & 
aarily,  because  the  civil  government  alone  has  power 
•  the  property,  the  persons,  and  the  life  of  its 
subjects.  To  subject  to  a  forfeiture  of  property,  to 
inflict  corporeal  punishment,  to  deprive  of  personal 
freedom,  to  consign  to  death,  is  the  prerogative 
alone  of  civil  rulers.     By  wdiat  act  was  it  then,  that 


TIi: 

the  ch  j] 
the  pa] 

( 'hrisl  in  their  1  i  6  jurisdi 

by  which  tl.  I 

hierarchy  in  their  <i 

righl 

pline,  and  m  criminal 

and  tin  .  the 

B  mish  church  in  ti 

:i.    In  that  legaliza- 
tion of  the    Romish  church. 

Burned  <>:i  t];,-  one  hand,  that  it  belong  their 

■  heir  buI  ion  they 

ought   i  imand  a:  rain 

thai  ivl;_  rhich 

Claim  that  tl  ami  lav*  S 

himself  were  under   their  jurisdnti 

athority    or   annulled    at    their   will. 
r  hand, 

i  of  their  time,  which  v.  :  an 

Christianity   I 

deificati 

ry  on  them  ami  their  snbje 

ami    the    hierarchies   of   that    church    A". 

auth 

that    all  dissent    iV 
;'  that  church,  ami  all  denials 
the  righi  ttermine  author. 

Llgioo  i-.  and  m  will 


WBRI  DELIVERED  TO  TH1  r\l\\<  Y.  381 

tlic  law,  is  a  dissenl  from  Christianity  itself,  and  a 

denial  of  itfl  authority  and  truth  ;   and  IS  a  crime  just- 
ly and  needfully  punished  by  the  civil  law. 

fhe  monarchs  of  the  ten  kingdoms  were  led  to  this 
arrogation  oi'  authority  over  Christianity  and  the 
faith  and  worship  of  their  subjects,  by  the  example 
of  their  pn  d  »rs,  the   Roman  em.] 

foreshown  Rev.  xiii.  -.  The  dragon  which  was  the 
Bymbol  of  the  rulers  of  the  Roman  empire  down  to 
the  tall  of  the  westerD  throne,  and  of  the  rulers  of  the 
tern  empire  from  thai  time  to  its  overthrow  by 
the  Turks,  gave, it  is  said, to  the  wild  l>ea>t  the  sym- 
bol of  the  Gothic  rulers  of  the  ten  kingdoms, " its 
power  and  throne,  and  -'rear  authority  :"  that  is.  in 
the  surrender  by  the  emperor  of  the  west  of  his  ter- 
ritories and  sceptre  to  the  Gothic  kings,  he  yielded 
and  transferred  to  them  all  the  imagined  rights  and 
prerogatives  over  his  subjects  which  he  had  himself 
rted  and  exercised  :  and  they,  after  his  example, 
assumed  that  among  them  was  the  right  of  legalizing 
the  Roman  Catholic  religion,  and  enforcing  it  on  their 
subjects.  And  this  assumption  of  authority,  as  was  fore- 
Bhown  in  the  same  prophecy,  Chap.  xiii.  1^.  was  jns- 
1  and  urged  as  a  duty  by  the  Catholic  church. 
The  two-horned  wild  beast — which  is  the  symbol  of 
the   civil   an  |  iastical   hierarchy  of  the   Roman 

state — "  it  i-  said,  "all  the  authority  of 

the  first  Wild  beast,  and  causes  the  earth  and  all  who 
inhabit  it  to  pay  a  religious  homage  to  the  firs 
whose   deadly  wound  was   healed;   namely,   the  dra- 


v  WHICH  Till 
mbol  of  the  tRo- 

:  li^ioUH  li<- III 

of  the  old  empi 
the  arrogation  by  those  rulers  of  authority 

I       istianity,  and  tin-  right  beir 

subjects  what  doctrines  they  shoul  I 

Christianity,  what  worship  they  Bbould 
offer,  and  what  teachers  they  Bhould  receh 
power  to  determine  their  faith  and  pracl 

■  them  the  bl  of  pardon  and  salvati 

And  this  prediction,  the  bishop  and  hierarchy  of 
Roman  Btate  verified.    They  taught,  at  the  institu- 
tion of  the  Gothic  -and  have  in  ei 
sequent  age — that  it  is  the  right  and  duty  <>! 
civil  rul<              palate  over  the  faith  and  worshi] 
their  Bubjects,  and  determine  their  religion,  and  that 
the  religion  they  were  to  1 
thai  of  1       (      frolic  church  :  and  in  order 

r  to  their  teachings,  they  wrought  false  mirs 
as  the  prop!  I 

vince  the  rulers  and  people  that  the  Etonian  pri 
wen-   tie-   true   and   authoritative  mil  I 

ami  induced  them  to  make  an  u 
-:.   infused  a  Living   spirit    i: 
d  thai  all  who  would  not  yield  it  implicit  I 
and  submission  should  be  put  to  death, 
of  an  image  to  tl. 
den<  n   of   the    Catl 

of  the   b  tern   Irii 

hierarchy,  with  the  pope  ;>t  its  lead  ;  and  the  infu- 


wi:kk  delivered  to  the  papaot. 

sion  of  a  spirit  into  the  image,  and  the  power  of 
•'•li  by  the  two-homed  be  ist,  33  mb  rlizt  -  the  im- 
putation by  the  priesthood  of  the  Roman  state,  to  the 
Catholic  church  at  Large  represented  by  the  im 
of  the  right  and  power  to  determine  the  faith  and 
rites  of  the  people  of  the  ten  kingdoms,  and  give 
their  decrees  the  authority  of  laws ;  while  the  gift  to 
the  image  of  the  power  of  causing  that  all  who  would 
not  worship  the  image  should  be  put  to  death,  signi- 
fies the  attribution  and  gift  to  the  hierarchy  of  the 
Roman  church  of  power  to  enforce  its  decrees  by 
persecution  and  death.  And  this  prophecy  of  the 
agency  of  the  dragon  and  the  two-horned  beast  has 
been  most  conspicuously  fulfilled.  It  was  because 
the  emperors  of  the  old  Roman  empire  from  Constan- 
tino to  Augustulus  had  arrogated  the  right  of  legaliz- 
ing the  church,  and  enforcing  the  doctrines  and  claims 
of  its  priesthood  on  their  subjects,  that  that  right  was 
assumed  by  the  Gothic  kings,  their  successors  in  the 
it.  The  monarchs  of  the  ten  kingdoms  simply 
usurped  the  power  over  the  church  and  over  reli- 
gion, which  they  regarded  themselves  as  having 
gained  from  the  Roman  emperors  by  conquest.  And 
the  hierarchy  of  the  Roman  state,  symbolized  by  the 
two-horned  beast,  maintained  that  the  rulers  of  the 
ancient  empire  had  the  authority  over  Christianity 
and  the  church  which  they  arrogated.  And  the  pope 
and  hi-  ts  I   the  nations  of  the  west  to 

place   their  hierarchies  under  the   dominion  of  the 
Roman  pontiff,  so  as  to  form  them  into  one  vast  or- 


Tin:  •  vviiirii  Tin:  saints 


on,  with    tin  in   mud. 

same  rabordim  aization 

tin-  ancient  empire  were  united  in  one  political  struc- 
ture, v. ith  the  empei  i  ntiff 

claim  ui  sub- 

mission to  its  \\  ill.  and  t  bo  would 

not  obey  itc  uould  be  pal 

facta  in  the  history  of  the  Catholic  church  i 
notorious  and  indubitable  than  these.    The 

to  claim  authority  over  the  whole  Catholic  i 
munity  immediately  after  the  nationals  .  the 

Etomish  church  in  Italy  by  the  Lombards.     He  and  his 
hierarchy  ha  ighf  through  all 

:  have  followed,  of  dictating  to  the 
their  faith  and  h  and  demanding  that  the 

rulers  should  recognize  their  authority  and  enf 
their  dec 
pliance  with  their  will  a 

I 

forfeitures,  impria  tnment,  tortur 
victims. 

It  la  clear,  therefore,  thai  the  acts  by  which 
saint  !  into  the  hands  of  the  paj 

the  acta  of  the  civil  rulers  by  which  th<   I 
lie  hierarchies  were  legalized,  and  the  Etomish 
i  made  the  religion  of  th< 

of  that  legalization  and  through  the  i 
currence  ancl  agency  of  the  civil  goven  -.  thai 

the  |  ions  by  which  the  saintshai  worn 

nut  have  be<  1  on.     Bad  there  been  no  i 


WERE  DELIVERED  TO  THE  P. WW  V.  385 

establishment  of  either  the  Catholic  or  the  IV 
tant  church  in  the  teD  kingdoms,  and  do  arrogation 
of  the  right  to  Legislate  over  religion  itself  and  the 
church,  there  would  have  been  do  persecution  ;  and 
had  there  been  do  legalization  of  one  denomination  to 
the  exclusion  of  others,  there  would  have  been  no 
power  by  which  the  intolerant  and  persecution  de- 
rives ofa  church  against  dissentients  could  have  been 
enforced  by  fines,  imprisonment  and  death;  as  none 
but  civil  rulers  have  the  power  to  punish  with  t\ 
inflictions. 

V.  When  then  was  it  that  the  Catholic  hierarchies 
were  thus  nationalized,  by  the  civil  governments  of 
the  ten  kingdoms,  so  that  the  Romish  priesthood  with 
the  pope  as  its  head,  claimed  the  exclusive  right  to 
teaeli  the  Christian  religion  and  offer  worship,  in  the 
western  empire,  and  attempted  to  enforce  their 
claims  by  persecuting  dissentients  by  the  arm  of  the 
civil  governments  ?  The  exact  time  of  the  complete 
legalization  of  the  Catholic  church  is  not  known,  but 
was  near  the  close  of  the  sixth,  or  beginning  of  the 
:iih  Century.  The  first  monarch  who  embraced 
Christianity  and  nationalized  the  church,  was  Glovis, 
King  of  the  Franks,  who  acknowledged  and  legalized 
the  Catholics,  and  became  their  patron  in  A.  D.  499. 
Others  followed  at  different  periods;  the  King  of 
the  Swevi  in  Qallicia  in  569  ;  the  King  of  the  Goths 
in  Spain  in  589  :  the  King  of  the  Lombards,  who  then 
held  the  whole  of  Italy  except  the  territory  of  the 
exarchate  of  Etavenna,  in  591 ;  and  Ethel ber{  of  Bug- 


UNTS 


land,  the  las!  in  the  I  rain,  jomewhen 

<.t*  the  cental  I)  in  the  next.     He  w  u  baptized 

in  the  sprin  07,  and  in  December  of  thai 

ten  thousand  of  hie  subj<  II. ■ 

di'l  not,  however,  attempt  by  authority  to  force  hie 

i  embrace  his  new  faith,  bn1  l«Tt  them  t 
ci.lf  for  thi  :. 

In  601,  Poj     1 1       ory  Benl  the  pallium  to    \ 
tine,  who  had  been  ordained  bishop, — and  anthoi 
him  to  institute  two  bishoprics  in  England  and  install 
aty-four  diocesan  bishops  ;  and  in  605,  Ethelbert 
made  donations  to  A.ugustine,  the  archbishop  of  I 
terbury.and  his  associates. and  formally  ackn< 
the  imed   authority   over    the    Catholic 

church  by  invoking  him  to  excommunic 
should  violate   I         editions  of  his  gifts.     Th     • 

involved  a  nationalization  of  the  church  for  the 
time,  there  can  be  little  doubt.     In  604, the  K 

I  ith  and  i 

a  bishop  to  his  capital.     On  the  death,  however,  of 
Ethelbert,  in  616,  ESadbald,  his  - 
bishop  of  Canterbury  from  his  kingdom,  and  the 
of  the  King  of  Essex,  then  also  de 
bishop  from  their  territory  and  threatene  1 1 
lishment  of  paganism.    Bui  ere  the  year  I  they 

[led  the  banished  prelates,  and  the   Catholic  reli- 

maintained  its  position  in  those  long- 

•i.    In  t)  •  Edwin, 

\   rthumberlan  the 

:  of  the  heptarchy,    it  does  n.>r  appear,  howei 


WERE  DELIVERED  TO  THE  PAPACY.  387 

that  he  offered  any  obstruction  to  the  Catholics  in  the 
other  kingdoms,  and  in  A.  D.  626  he  embraced  the 
faith  of  the  church,  and  from  thai  period  the  Catholic 
continued  to  be  the  religion  of  ihc  state. 

Within  this  period  then,  from  A.  D.  597,  to  626, 
there  is  do  donbt  the  Catholic  church  was  national- 
ized in  England  ;  and  we  think  its  most  probable  date 

was  A.  D.  602,  when  Augustine  (who  had  been  or- 
dained a  bishop)  receiving  the  pallium  from  Gregory 
was  constituted  archbishop  of  Canterbury,  with  au- 
thority to  institute  another  archbishopric,  and  was 
recognized  by  Ethclbert  in  that  character.  It  is 
certain  that  in  that  year  or  the  next  he  held  a  Bynod 
with  the  assent  of  the  king,  in  which  he  asserted  the 
jurisdiction  of  the  Roman  church  over  the  bishops 
and  churches  of  the  native  Britons,  and  denounced 
the  judgments  of  God  on  them  for  their  refusal  to 
submit  to  his  authority.  Ethelbert  also  recognized 
and  legalized  the  Catholic  church  by  enacting  laws 
for  the  protection  of  its  property,  and  the  property 
of  its  ministers,  which  indicated  that  he  regarded 
their  rights  as  peculiarly  sacred.* 

The  Saxon  kings  were  the  List  to  embrace  the  Ro- 
mish religion.  On  its  nationalization  in  England,  it 
was  established  throughout  the  ten  kingdoms.  It 
would  not  be  certain,  however,  if  that  was -the  date 
of  its  complete  nationalization,  that  it  was  the  date 
also  of  the  twelve  hundred  and  sixty  years  ;  unless 

*  Labbei  Concilia,  torn.  x.  pp.  491-499.  Baronii.  torn.  viii.  pp. 
190,  191. 


Btt 


;imi:  win 


it  had  begun  to  j  mediately  on  die  delr 

of  the  sainl 

hundred  and  sixty  years  appear  to  be  the  measure 
of  /'  Uon  of  the  saints.    Thus  the  witni 

are  to  be  in  sackcloth  during  the  thousand  two  hun- 

I  and  three-score  da}  b  of  their  prophesying;  which 
indicates  thai  they  are  to  be  in  great  humiliation 

from  the  opposition  of  those  against  whom 
they  are  to  testify.    The  forty  and  twomonti 
Gentiles'  treading  the  holy  city  rty  and 

months  during  which  th< 
an  absolute  dominion  over  it.  to  the  exclusi 
true  worshippers.     The  tim<  and  halt*  a  time 

during  which  the  woman  wi  nourished  in  the 

wilderness,  were  times  in  which  her  safety  d< 
on  her  Beclusion  from  the  face  of  th  t.     And 

the  forty  and  two  months  during  which  power 

:i  to  the  ten-horned  wild  fcx 
months  in  which  he  I  his  mouth  in 

phemy  again      I  sine,  his  tabernacle,  and  his 

redeemed  in  heaven,  and  made  war  with  the  saints. 
Etev.  xi.  2,  3  :  xii.  1 1  :  xiii.  6-7.  There  is  Little 
doubt,  however,  that  the  twelve  hundred  and  sixty 
the  repression  and  persecution  of  the  saints 
date  from  the  period  of  the  complete  nationalization 
of  the  church.  Laws  had  several  years  before  I 
enacted  in  a  number  <»f  the  kingdoms,  subjecting 
those  who  r  in  to  th  !  to 

.  od  to  (  ai  '1  the  i 

zealous  and  imperious  claims  wei 


WERE  DELIYBRED  TO  THE  PAPACY.  389 

ory  the  Great  from  his  accession  to  the  papal 
to  the  submission  of  the  whole  western  church  to  bis 
authority,  and  the  mosl  Btrenuous  efforts  made  to  re- 
pro-  those  who  were  called  heretics,  and  force  them 
to  renounce  their  peculiar  doctrines  and  worship, 
ami  yield  obedience  to  the  Catholic  church.  It  is 
probable,  therefore,  that  the  wearing  out  of  the  saints 
by  the  little  horn,  commenced  with  their  delivery 
into  its  hands  by  the  nationalization  of  the  Catholic 
hierarchies.  What  the  exact  date  of  either  was, 
however,  cannot  be  absolutely  determined.  We  only 
know  that  it  was  probably  the  first  or  second  year 
of  the  seventh  century,  and  that,  at  the  most,  it  can 
have  been  but  a  few  years  later. 

VI.  But  what  is  the  relation  of  these  twelve  hun- 
dred and  sixty  days,  to  the  twenty-three  hundred 
days  of  Daniel  viii.  14  ;  the  time,  times  and  dividing 
of  time  of  Dan.  vii.  25  ;  and  the  time,  times  and  a 
half  j  the  twelve  hundred  and  ninety  days  ;  and  the 
thousand  three  hundred  and  thirty-five  days  of  Dan. 
xii.  T— 11,  12?  It  is  held  by  some  commentators  that 
the  twenty-three  hundred  days  of  Dan.  viii.  11,  are 
to  terminate  at  the  same  time,  as  the  time,  times  and 
a  half,  and  the  twelve  hundred  and  sixty  days  of  Dan. 
xii.  T— 11,  and  the  forty-two  months  of  Rev.  xiii.  5. 
That  however  is  very  far  from  being  certain  or  pro- 
bable ;  as  the  event  with  which  they  are  to  termini 
is  not  the  fall  of  the  ten-horned  beast  in  the  form  in 
which  it  rose  from  the  sea,  Rev.  xiii.  1-6,  but  the 
cleansing  of  the  sanctuary  :  by  which  is  meant,  the 


'i  in: 


expulsion  of  the  piation  for  Bin,  from 

the  tliuii  li.  and  the  restoration  of  Chri  rifice 

to  it-  proper  place  in  the  faith  of  the  worshipper 
I  Others  have  supposed  that  the  event  den 

by  the  taking  away  of  the  daily  Bacrifl 
literal  u  ion  «»1"  the  daily  sacrifice  at  J< 

by  the  destruction  of  the  temple  and  i 
by  the  Romans  in  \.  i>.  To  ;  and  them 
that  the  twelve  hnndred  and  sixtj  ended  in  a.  d. 

L380,  and  the  twelve  hnndred  and  nin<  Bui 

that  is  wholly  mistaken.    The  vision  issj  mbolie  ;  ai 
the  ram,  the  goat,  and  their  horns  Bignify  the  I 
and  Greek  powers  and  their  monarchs,  and  the  Little 
horn  that  Bprang  out  of  one  of  the  four  horns  of  the 
goat,  the  Etonian  power;  so  the  host  of  .  the 

sanctuary,  the  daily  sacrifice,  and  the  cleanaL 
sanctuary,  Bignify  things  differing  from  thei 
The  Little  horn  is  the  Boman  power  which,  aftei 
tablishing  itself  in  slacedoni  . 
over  the  whole  of  what  had  been  the  eastern 
southern   Grecian  empire.    The   host 
heaven  against  which  it  waxed  great,  and  cast  them 
to  the  ground,  denote  the  true  ministers  of  the  Chris- 
tian church  :  the  prince  of  the  h  whom  it 
magnified  itself  by  the  usurpation  of  his  rights  and 
throne,  is  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  the  head  of  th 
deemed  church  ;  the  daily  sacrifice  which  it   took 

away  BVmbolized  the  sacrifice  of  Christ  SB  the  e\j.ia- 

tion  of  sin  ;  and  its  being  taken  away.  d< 

bion  by  the  papacy,  and  the  substitution  u 


OF  THE  DIFFERENT     PROPHETIC  PERIODS.  391 

place  of  the  sacrifice  of  the  mass  ;  and  the  sanctuary, 
the  place  of  the  offering  of  the  Jewish  sacrifices,  re- 
presents tin1  places  of  the  worship  of  Christian  be- 
lievers who  put  their  faith  for  pardon  in  the  sacrifice 

of  Christ.  The  cleansing  accordingly  of  the  sanctu- 
ary, which  is  the  event  that  is  to  mark  the  close  of 
the  twenty-three  hundred  days,  is  to  be  a  discontinu- 
ance of  the  mass,  and  the  restoration  of  Christ's  sac- 
rifice  to  the  faith  of  the  ministers  universally,  and 
members  of  the  church  as  their  trust  for  expiation 
and  pardon  :  and  that  will  take  place  at  the  destruc- 
tion of  Babylon  the  great,  the  symbol  of  the  Catholic 
priesthood,  who  are  the  offerers  of  the  mass.  But 
Babylon  is  to  fall  and  be  destroyed  after  the  fall  of 
the  ten-horned  beast  in  its  first  form,  and  its  rise  out 
of  hades  in  the  shape  in  which  it  is  to  go  to  perdi- 
tion ;  as  is  seen  from  Rev.  xvii.  3-14  ;  in  which  the 
woman  Babylon  appears  seated  on  the  wild  beast 
after  its  emergence  from  the  abyss  in  its  last  form. 
If,  therefore,  the  forty-two  months  of  the  beast  that 
was  and  is  not,  is  the  measure  of  its  career  before  it 
falls  and  rises  in  its  last  shape,  then  the  cleansing  of 
the  sanctuary  at  the  end  of  the  twenty-three  hun- 
dred days,  is  to  take  place  after  that  period.  It  is 
indeed  stated,  Dan.  xii.  11,  that  "from  the  time  that 
the  daily  sacrifice  shall  be  taken  away,  and  the  abomi- 
nation that  maketh  desolate  set  up,  there  shall  be  a 
thousand  two  hundred  and  ninety  days,"  that  is  be- 
fore that  abomination  shall  be  removed,  and  the  expi- 
ation   symbolized   by  the   daily  sacrifice,  restored. 


tin:  RELATION 

and  iiin- 
w ith  the  twelve  hand 

.  1 1  '..7.  tba  ■ 

the  calamities  and  deliveram 

].li.  |  .     than    I 

twelve  hundred  and  aixtj  "And 

tin-  man  clothed  in  linen  who  v. 
of  the  river,  Bow  long  thai]    I 
wonders?    And  I  heard  the  man  clothed  in  1 
who  was  apon  the  waters  of  the  rive 
np  his  right  and  his  lefl  hand  onto  heaven,  ai 
by  him  that  liveth  forever,  that  ii  Bhall  )•• 
i  and  ;i  halfj  and  when  he  Bhall  b 
pliahed  the  scattering  (that  i 
of  the  holy  people,  all  these  Bhall  be  fini  : 
end  is  thus  to  be  not  only  after  I 

twelve   hundred 

dispersion  of  the  Israelii  I  ;  that 

the  time  for  their  return  has  an  d  they  h 

in  a  measure  re-established  themselves  in  their 

ral  land.    The  events,  m  omplish- 

ment  of  which  ia  ititute  the  end,  a 

coming  of  Christ,  the  destruction  of  the  wild  1 
the  deliverance  of  his  people,  and  I  tion 

of  the  holy  dead.    For  it  is  expressly  predii 
the  time  when  ti  wilful  h 

Dan.  .\i.  •!."».  w  ho  la  the  -  the  imperial  pei 

symbolized  by  I  it  in  hia 

xvii.   II. 


OF  Tin:  DIFFERENT  PBOPHETIO  PERIODS. 

.Michael  the  great  prince,  the  Messiah,  shall  stand 
fox  the  [sraelites,  and  deliver  them,  and  many  that 

sleep  in  the  dusl  of  the  earth  shall  awake  to  ever- 
lasting life.  It  Is  foreshown  also,  Zech.  xiv.  1-5,  thai 
the  coming  <>t*  Christ  with  his  saints,  is  to  take  place 
when  the  Israelites  shall  have  partially  returned  to 

their  national  land,  aid  the  antichristian  armies  shall 
attempt  to  drive  them  again  into  exile  ;  and  Rev. 
xix.  11  -25,  that  the  destruction  of  the  wild  beast  is 
to  take  place  at  Christ's  second  coming.  Its  de- 
struction is  accordingly  to  be  at  least  as  late  as  the 
close  of  the  twelve  hundred  and  ninety  days.  It  is 
to  subsist,  therefore,  thirty  years,  (the  period  doubt- 
less following  its  emergence  out  of  the  abyss,)  af- 
ter the  expiration  of  its  twelve  hundred  and  sixty 
years. 

The  forty-five  years  that  are  to  follow — making  the 
thirteen  hundred  and  thirty-five,  are  probably  to  be 
occupied  in  the  judgment  of  the  living,  the  complete 
restoration  of  the  Israelites,  and  the  conversion  of  the 
nations. 

VII.  From  these  considerations  it  is  apparent  that 
the  exacl  date  of  the  twelve  hundred  and  sixty  years 
IS  tint  known  ;  nor,  consequently,  the  time  of  their 
termination.  It  is  clearly  revealed,  however,  that 
their  end  is  net  to  be  the  period  of  the  extinction  of 
the  wild-beast,  nor  the  coining  of  Christ.  They  are 
to  be  at  leasl  thirty  years  later. 

It  is  clear,  also, from  several  prophecies, Matt.  xxiv. 

36-30,  1  These,  v.  2,  2  Peter  iii.  10,  that  the  day  of 

17* 


Chri  tainly  known  until  ho 

in  the  cloud*.     I    i  gna]  of  hi 

•  in-  darkenin  and 

•    M     of    tlr 

which  will  1 

I  y  of  light  from  the  I 

ted,  : 1 1 1 <  1  th<*  earth  wrapped  in 
late  darkness,  his  glory  will  ahine  with  a  dazzling 
affolg 

rt. 

The  people  of  God,  ho*  reknow- 

hii  oomi  andonl  I 

are  that  it  ia  nigh.    The  prodamaJ 
by  I  aven  having  the 

1  t"  preach,  that  the  hour  of  (1 

-iiuws    that    the  _,rers 

• 

■ 
aware   that  his  < 

•  hat   beli 
will  be  I  .    for  bis  althongh  ■ 

>f  them  will  pare  th< 

it.    An<l  the  occurrence  of  I 
immediately  to  precede  it.  such  i  11  of  the 

.   the 
of  others  .  their  ]  I 

■'••Mi.  martyr.:  •.  of  the 

immnnication  of  the  Lr<>-j>el  t-»  all  nations, 
Ion,  the  return 
blishmen  -  in  their 


395 


tional  land,  will  naturally  Impress  all  who  receive  the 

Scriptures  as  the  word  of  God,  with  the  feeling  that 

the  day  of  Christ's  coming  Id  at  hand. 

The  yean  that  are  approaching  arc  to  bo  marked 
by  greal  and  extraordinary  occurrences  that  will  awe 

and  agitate  the  nations  of  Christendom  in  a  measure 
they  have  not  hitherto  known.  How  soon  that  revo- 
lution of  the  governments  of  the  western  kingdoms, 
which  is  denoted  by  the  descent  of  the  ten-horned 
wild  beast  into  the  abyss,  is  to  take  place,  cannot  be 
foreseen.  It  may  be  within  a  lew  years.  It  may  be 
at  the  distance  of  quite  a  number.  When  it  takefl 
place,  and  the  beasl  rises  in  its  final  form  from 
pit,  a  momentous  change  will  be  wrought  in  the  i 
dition  of  its  subjects.  The  papacy  will  be  n 
to  exclusive  nationalization  ;  persecution  will  be  re- 
sumed :  and  an  attempt  made  either  to  drive  those 
who  hold  the  true  faith  to  apostasy,  or  to  exterminate 
them  by  the  sword;  for  it  is  expressly  foretold  that 
this  persecution  of  the  witnesses  is  to  be  by  the  wild 
boast  that  ascends  out  of  the  bottomless  pit — that  is 
hades — in  distinction  from  the  beast  that  ascended 
out  of  the  mi.  Rev.  xi.  T.  The  resurrection  of  the 
martyrs  and  assumption  to  heaven  at  the  time  fore- 
told, in  the  presence  of  vast  multitudes,  will  defeat 
that  aim.  and  carry  a  resistless  conviction  to  millions 
that  they  are  the  true  worshippers  of  God,  and  that 
the  state  church  which  arraigned  and  martyred  them, 
is  a  false  church.  Under  the  vehement  disgust  and 
indignation  which  that  discovery  is  to  excite,  the 


'i  hi: 
from  thi  and  let! 

tin-  ]'in  ; 

:  Christ's  coming  they 

will  i 

the  nations  by  pr  ^claiming  to  I 
his  .  in  that  the  hour  oi 

judgment  hi  .    Alter  traction  of  Baby- 

lon, the  imperial  phi  will  institul 

il  intimated  in  Dan.  \i.  86   15,  a  Btill 

:i,  and   will  crush  th<  I 

with  new  peraecnti  -th  make  war  on 

the  Lamb  himself,  by  attempting  to  drive  the  I- 

.  who  will  have  returned  to  Palestine,  again  into 
exile,  and  intercepting  him  from  the  establishment 
of  his  throne  there.    These  and  tl 

that  are  1  them,  the  di.-erimi:.  the  true 

3  from  the  fab  ted  by  the  Beating 

the  servant-  ments  which  an 

smite   the   nations,  and   till   them  with  terror  and  do 

spair  :  and  the  awful  tonus  of  malice  and  impiety  in 
which  th  :  men  are  to  display  themael 

ike  the  \  unexampled  exciters 

agitation,  and  alarm  ;  bringing  the  ti 
•  intimate  relati<  G 

them  to  eminent  watchfulness,  faith, 
and  confounding,  and 

their  a] 


that  chkist's  COMING  D9  NIGH.  39*2 

and  hostility  by  the  violence  of  their  efforts  to  crush 
his  cause  and  extricate  themselves  from  his  power. 

Id  the  prospect  of  these  fearful  scenes,  it  becomes 
the  disciples  of  Christ  to  take  heed  to  his  counsels  and 
watch  for  his  coming,  lest  they  be  found  unprepared. 
It  is  given  as  a  distinguishing  mark  of  those  who 
will  then  be  ready  for  admission  to  his  kingdom,  that 
they  will  be  expecting  his  advent,  and  will  have  his 
name  graven  on  their  foreheads,  and  like  the  wise 
virgins  who  had  oil  in  their  vessels,  be  ready  to  join 
his  triumphal  train.  It  is  given  as  the  mark  of  others, 
that  though  aware  of  his  approach,  they  will  not  be 
fit  to  be  admitted  to  his  presenee  witli  those  whose 
redemption  is  then  to  be  completed,  but  will  be  left 
without,  while  the  world  at  large  will  be  taken  by 
surprise,  and  will  be  overwhelmed  with  terror  and 
dismay. 


Tin  \\I>  THE  [TNCL0B1 


C  II  a  PT  1:  B    x  xxiii. 
m  QLomrneD  and  thi  ovolokiiid  oi  m  ra  m 

MII.I.r.NNHM. 

I  r  has  been  generally  held,  thai  do  difi  ii  to 

subsist  between  those  believers  who,  al  Chrii 
ing,  are  to  be  raised  from  death,  and  the  living,  who 
are  to  be  changed  to  immortal  ;  bnt  tliat  the  kx 
of  the  latter,  as  well  as  the  former,  are  to  bee 
Bpiritnal  and  glorions.    That  they  are  to  1 
dissimilar,  1  .  in   nature  and   Btatioi 

abundantly  dear. 

A  glorified  body  must  diffl  bially,  it  i-  plain, 

from  it<  distinguishing  characteristics,  from  one  thai 

Lfl  simply  immortal.      Tlo  QO  longer  to  be  natu- 

ral or  earthly:  hut  ifl  to  be  Bpiritnal, and  from  it- 
very  nature  incorruptible.     It  ifl  to  be  placed  by  its 

-litutioii  out  oi*  the   action,  as   completely   as   the 

spirit  itself  is,  of  those  physi  which  impair 

and  dissolve  organisms  in  thi'  Bphere  of  natural 
The  forces  by  which  it  is  to  -  md  which  an 

control  it.  arc  t-»  he  of  a  diffi 

than   those  of  animal    bodies,  which   are   fur:. 


DURING  THE  MILLENNIUM.  399 

subsist  according  to  the  laws  of  matter.    A  body, 

however,  that    is   simply  immortal,  may  -till   1><-  natu- 
ral   and    earthly,  and    be    BUbject    to    the    laws   of  an 

iily  material  organism,  ae  Adam  doubtless  would 
have  been,  had  he  continued  in  obedience.     Eta  ce 

lesfl  life  will  depend,  not  on  the  nature  of  it-  element-, 
or  the  principle  of  its  organization, but  on  the  power 

of  God  exerted  <»n  it,  or  the  vigor  of  the  lite  with 
which  it  is  animated. 

And  that  the  saints  who  are  to  be  raised  from  the 
dead  at  Christ's  coming,  are  thus  to  differ  from  \] 
in  life  who  arc  then  to  be  changed  from  mortal  to 
immortal.  is  clear.  They  are  discriminated  from  each 
other  by  the  apostle  by  the  very  terms  which  denote 
th<'  essential  differences  we  have  mentioned.  His 
Language  is  :  M  Behold  I  show  you  a  mystery  (an  event 
not  before  revealed).  We  shall  not  all  sleep,  but  we 
shall  all  be  changed  in  a  moment,  in  the  twinkling 
of  an  eye.  For  the  trumpet  shall  sound,  and  the 
dead  shall  he  raised  incorruptible,  and  we  shall  be 
changed.  For  this  corruptible  must  put  on  incorrup- 
tion,  and  this  mortal  put  on  immortality.  So  when 
this  corruptible  shall  have  put  on  incorruption,  and 
this  mortal  shall  have  put  on  immortality,  then  shall 
be  brought  to  pa--  the  saying  that  is  written,  Death 
wallowed  up  in  victory."  1  Cor.  xv.  51-54.  Here 
incorruptible!.*  --  i-  predicated  exclusively  of  those 
who  are  to  he  raised  from  the  dead  ;  as  it  is  also  in 
the  description,  vs.  40-45,  of  the  glorified  body. 
"  There  are  also  celestial  bodies,  and  bodies  terres- 


trial,  but  tbi 

. 
rection  of  tl  it  if 

a  incorruptioD  ;  it  is  sown  in  di  it  ii 

wn  ID  W( 

in  power  :  ii  d  b  natural  body,  Li 

itaal  body.    Th  Datura!  bod; 

it  a  spiritual  body,     a  .  i  bo  ii 

man,  Adam,  was   formed   into  a  livii .. 

Adam  into  a  life-giving  spirit."    The  11:  •  glo 

rified  body  La  do!  liki 

body,  to  be  the  i  an  inbr<  :  but 

Bpirii  itself  is  to  be  i  it.    The  psychi- 

cal body  hai  yche  or  vital  principle  1 

into  it  bj  I         ind  by  thai  inbreathing  it  ; 
a  living  organism.    Bui  of  the  spiritual  1 
spirit  itself  Lb  to  be  tl.  1  Ad 

formed  by  an  inbreathing  by  th   I  tntoa  liv- 

ing j  1 1 1  i  >  1 1 1  :  the  Becond  A 

formed  into  -  life-making  Bpirii  ;  a  Bpi- 

rii thai  makes  or  forms  the  life.    And  the  1 
the  redeemed  ai  made  Like  his.    "  At 

heavenly,  such  arc  they  also  thai  are 

e  have  borne  the  image  of  the  earthly,  we  shall 
also  bear  the  in.  the  heavenlj ."  I  I 

49.    "The  Lord  Jesus  Christ  Bhall  change  our  ^ 
body  thai  it  may  be  fashioned  like  unto  his  g 

."  Phil.  iii.  21.    ••  Beloved,  do* 

"Land  it  doth  Dot  J  rwhat  We  shall 

but  .t  when  he  shall  shall  be 


Tin:  LIVING  TO  BE  CHANGED  TO  IMMORTAL.         401 

like  him,  for  we  shall  Bee  him  Eta  he  is,M  1  John  iii.  2. 
The  spirituality  of  the  glorified  body,  accordingly 
not  to  consist  in  an  Immateriality  or  Bubtilization  of 
its  substance,  but  in  its  spirit  being  its  animating 
principle,  in  place  of  a  psyche,  which  Is  the  life  of 
the  natural  body.  Incorruption,  spirituality,  or  life 
from  the  indwelling  Bpirit,  and  power  and  glory,  are 
thus  given  as  the  characteristics  of  the  resurrection 
body  of  the  believer,  while  there  is  no  intimation 
tli.it  they  are  to  be  qualities  of  the  changed  bodies 
of  the  living*  saints,  [nstead,  the  definition  given  in 
these  passages  of  the  change  that  is  to  be  wrought 
in  them,  is,  Bimply,  that  it  is  to  be  from  mortal  to 
immortal.  As  the  dead  and  dissolved  body  is  to  put 
on  incorruption,  so  the  living  mortal  body  is  to  put 
on  immortality.  But  that  will  be  a  mere  release  from 
the  sentence  to  death,  and  the  causes  that  produce 
it,  and  restoration  to  a  state  and  life  in  which,  like 
the  first  Adam's,  it  will  be  unobnoxious  to  dissolution. 
It  will  not  involve  a  conversion  into  a  spiritual  body, 
or  body  of  which  the  spirit  is  the  life,  in  place  of  a 
sensitive  psyche.  Nor  will  it  be  a  glorification,  of 
which  that  life  from  the  Bpirit  will  undoubtedly  be 
an  essential  condition.  For  Adam  and  Eve  were  in 
their  original  state  immortal  ;  that  is,  they  were  ex- 
empt from  all  causes  of  death,  and  animated  with  a 
life  that  was  adapted  to  an  endless  continuance.  To 
suppose  that  they  were  not  immortal,  is  to  Bupp 
that  they  were  created  witli  the  seeds  of  death  in 
their  nature,  and  therefore  under  the  penalty  of  sin, 


402         11: 

which  Li  1 1 

Y    • 

were  qoI  glorified.    They  w< 
bodii    .     1 1         human  1 
empl  from  all  c  ath,  and  capabL 

interminable  life.    Tho*  dingly  whose  mortal 

put  on  immortality,  will  .-till  continue 
be  psychical  as  Adam  and  Eve  originally  • 
contradistinction  from  ipiritnaL    They  will  s'u. 
be  delivered  from  the  effects  of  the  fall,  and  n 
to  the  original  Btate  of  the  first  pair.    The  1 
the  two  ire  thus  tob  tially  different  in 

stitution  and  Lifj  !1  as  in 

The  change,  however,  of  the  In 
rior  to  that  of  the  glorified,  will  be  ignifi- 

cance  and  beauty.     It  will  involve  tl  fall 

the  debasement  and  that  h  . 

•It.  ami  an  elevation  to  a  parity  and  p< 
that  will  lit  it  to  be  the  tenement  mind,  which 

is  then  also  to  be  the  blight  i: 

1  from  sin.    The  integrity  and  harmonj 
powers  that  will  then  be  enjoyed,  the  fresh] 
energy  of  intellect  and  feeling,  the  quick] 
delicacy  of  the  senses,  the  exempt  a  inordu 

appetite  and  corroding  passion,  and  tl  tct  union 

and  concurrence  that  will  Bubsist  1"  and 

mind,  will  raise  those  who  a:  1  t<»  th 

i  .  a  height  ol  beauty  and  I  >f  which 

bow  form  1":' 
It    will.   perhaps,   b  the 


Tin:  RISEN  BAHrre  To  BE  GLORIFIED.  403 

change  to  be  wroughl  in  the  Living  saints,  thai  it  is 
said  by  the  apostle,  that  "flesh  and  blood  cannot 
inherit  the  kingdom  of  God."  That,  however,  in 
place  of  opposing,  confirms  it.    For  flesh  and  blood 

denote  man's  body  in  his  fallen  and  mortal  state,  noi 
its  simple   nature  as  a  psychical  Organism,  as  Adam's 

was  l»e tore  his  fall.  The  very  object  accordingly  of 
the  revelation  which  the  apostle  immediately  an- 
nounces is,  to  show  how  the  living  saints  are  to  be 
admitted  into  the  kingdom  of  God,  without  a  trans- 
formation to  a  spiritual  nature,  like  that  which  is  to 
be  wrought  in  those  who  are  raised  from  the  dead. 
They  are  to  be  fitted  for  admission  to  the  kingdom 
by  a  full  redemption  from  sin  and  its  curse,  and  re- 
storation to  a  pure  and  deathless  nature.  Their 
mortal  is  to  put  on  immortality,  as  the  corruptible 
of  the  dead  is  to  put  on  incorruption.  Their  re- 
demption therefore  is  to  be  as  perfect  as  that  of  the 
glorified  ;  though  their  bodies  are  not  to*be  as  re- 
splendent, nor  their  sphere  in  the  kingdom  so  ex- 
alted. 

That  the  bodies  of  the  risen  saints  arc  to  differ 
from  those  who  are  simply  changed  to  immortal,  is 
shown  also  in  the  following  pa-sage.  '-And  I  saw 
tin4  holy  city,  the  new  Jerusalem  descending  out  of 
heaven  from  God,  prepared  as  a  bride  adorned  for 
her  husband.  And  I  heard  a  great  voice  from  hearen 
saying.  Behold  the  tabernacle  of  God  with  men  ;  and 
shall  dwell  with  them,  and  they  shall  be  his  peo- 
and  God  himself  shall  be  with  them,  their  God, 


404  Tin:  uviv;  fO  I  .l. 

an. I   I 

death  sbalJ  Dot  be  any  n 

:1  toil  1  ■ 
have 

a  ia  the  9}  mbol  of  the  i .  tints, 

I; 
t>»  !..  en  from  i  the 

brid  LO  :  from 

:i  from  heaven,  \\i.. 
bnl  those  \\  ho  have  died  as<  1  from  I 

of  the  risen  sainta  as  1. 

B     ...    I    6.      Th<  ailed  the 

irnacle  of  (I".],  and  in  vs.  1<»,  ■__    2 
city,  the  hoi;  Jem,  of  which  I  I  Al- 

mighty ami  the  Lamb,  a 

are  thus  discriminated  in  the  I  manner 

from  the  living  saints,  whu  are  merely  t«»  be  chm 
from  mortal  to  immortal.    The  i 
out  of  heaven  from  God  to  the  earth.    The  living 

; :..      'J 
made  of*<  .  the  hierarchy  • 

and  priests  who  are  to  reign  \\ :      I 
not  men  themselves  over  whom  ti. 
On  the  other  hand,  the  men  themselves  with  whom 
i  dwell  in  that  tabernacle  a: 
Qumerons  as  the  nat  i  which  they 

belong.    And  tl.  to  he  changi 

and  ;  of   the    tall    in  all    il~ 

-hall  w 


THEIR  BTATJ0N8  TO  DIFFER.  405 

death  Bhall  be  do  more,  neither  sorrow,  nor  crying  ; 
nor  Bhall  toil  be  any  more. 

Bame  view  i>  presented  of  them  in  the  vision 
oi*  the  palm-bearing  multitude,  Rev.  vii,  (.)-17,  where 
they  are  represented  as  having  come  ont  of  the  great 
tribulation,  and  washed  their  robes,  and  whitened 
them  in  the  blood  of  the  Land)  ;  and  "  For  thai 
son  (it  is  said),  they  are  before  the  throne  of  God, 
and  servo  him  day  and  night  in  his  temple  ;  and  he, 
who  -its  on  the  throne  shall  tabernacle  with  them. 
They  shall  not  hunger  any  more,  nor  thirst  anymore, 
neither  shall  the  Bun  strike  upon  them  nor  any  heat; 
for  the  Lamb  who  is  in  the  midst  of  the  throne  Bhall 

!  them,  and  shall  lead  them  to  the  living  fountain 
of  waters,  and  God   shall  wipe   every  tear  from  their 

b.m  There  is  to  be  a  total  repeal,  then,  in  respect 
to  them  of  the  eurse  of  the  fall,  and  restoration  to  the 
state  in  which  the  first  pair  were  created.     They, 

irdingly,  are  to  be  changed  from  a  fallen  to  an 
unfallen  state  and  from  mortal  to  immortality,  con- 
formably to  the  representation,  1  Cor.  xv.  40-50, 
sidered.  That  the  bodies  of  the  risen 
samt-  are  to  be  essentially  different  from  those  of 
the  living  who  are  to  be  changed  to  immortal,  is 
thus  abundantly  manifest. 

The  stations  and  relations  of  these  two  classes,  ait- 
to  be  as  different   as  their  corporeal  natures.     The 

□  saint-  are  to  be  kings  and  priests  of  God  and 
of  Christ,  and  are  to  reign  with  him  on  the  earth. 
These  offices  are  expressly  ascribed  to  them  in  the 


Tii: 

I 
tin-in  a!  •  i  .     Thii  is  i 
their  >\  mbolization  by  the  bolj 
which  i  ili.  in  ia  a  structun 

walled  city,  and  nixed  h  bier- 

authoriJ  men, 

on  the  same  principle  as  Babj  I 
of  idolatry  on  the  Euphi  mbol  of 

the  hierarchy  of  the  Romish  chnrch,  whi 
authority  over  the  nnofficial  members  of  tl 
amnion.     It  is  taught  ale      D  i ..        '  -   22 
is  foreshown  that  at  the  comi]  iristatthei 

throw  of  the  power  denoted  by  the  fourth  be 
saints  of  the  Most   High  ahall  take  the  kingdom  and 

leas  n    :   r  ever   i  ad   ever."    T 
representati< 

indicate  clearly  that  the  risen  saint-  !  in 

intimate  relati<  I  1 1  till  ofl 

nificance  to 

medium  of  communi  it  would 

:  :  for  tlic  natioi  walk  in  the  light  oi  the 

city,  which  is  their  BymboL     Men  art  Id  s 

cheerful  obedience  to  their  nil** ;  for  the  kings  of  the 

earth   are   to   bring   their   glory   and   honor,  and 

glory  and  honor  of  the  nations  into  the  city. 

those    who   are    thus   to   walk    in   its   light    and   1  : 

their  to  it    a: 

ill  by  no  means  enter  it  anything  tl. 
clean,  and  that  works  defilem  ;  but 

only  who  are  written  in  the  Lamb's  1 


TIIKlii  stations  to  DIFFER.  407 

(Rev.  xxi.  27. 1  aj  they  are  personi  then  who  aro 
freed  from  the  dominion  of  Bin,  they  are  the  living 

saints  who  are  also  freed  from  its  curse  by  being 
changed  from  mortal  to  immortal.  These  then  aro 
the  special   subjects  over  whom  the  glorified   saints 

reign,  Or  those  at  least  of  their  subjects  who  walk  in 
their  light  and  yield  a  spotless  obedience  under  their 
sway. 

The  Living  saints  who  are  thus  to  be  changed  to 
immortal  are  to  occupy  no  such  stations  as  kings  and 
priests  who  reign  with  Christ.  Their  sphere  is  to  be 
that  of  subjects,  not  of  kings.  They  are  to  serve  the 
Redeemer  under  the  reign  of  the  glorified  saints,  in 
stead  of  reigning  with  him  and  them.  Yet  their  con- 
dition and  life  will  be  one  of  great  dignity  and  beauty. 
Restored  from  the  injuries  of  the  fall  to  a  perfect  na- 
ture, enjoying  the  indwelling  of  the  Holy  Spirit  in 
the  fulness  of  his  gifts,  exalted  to  the  society  of  the 
glorified  saints,  placed  under  their  instruction  and 
guidance,  and  led  on  by  them  to  heights  of  knowledge, 
of  wisdom,  of  love,  and  of  trust  far  beyond  what  they 
would  otherwise  attain,  their  condition  will  be  one  of 
eminent  grace  and  blessedness, and  will  exemplify  in 
an  impressive  form  the  perfection  and  glory  of  the 
redemption  which  Christ  accomplishes. 

When,  however,  is  this  change  of  the  mortal  saints 
to  immortal  to  be  wrought?  At  the  moment  of 
Christ3  ding,  or  at  a  later  period?     And  are  all 

believers  who  are  then  living  to  be  changed  at  the 
same  time,  or  at  different  periods? 


408 

Th<  the  li\  i: 

mom  I 

the  holv  dead,  but  al  a  lab 
taught  1  T! 

by  the  word  !.     !.  thai  we  the  living,  wh 

main  usrto  the  coming  of  the  I.     I,  shall  not 

.       For  tfa      I.    :    :  . 

with  I,  and  trump  fall 

.  from  1.  ad  the  dead  in   I 

first,     i  .  the  Living,  wh 

main, shall  be  canghf  np  with  them  in  clond 
the  Lord  In  the  air."     [f  the  epoch  to  which  this 

ia  that       •  :  the  fivii  to  im- 

mortality, a:  bown  plainly 

precede  that,  it  is  clear  thai  it  is  to  I 
qnently  to  the  resurrection  6%  the  holy  dead.     I 

• 
i  intimation.     It  may  be  a  i 
Then 

rhapa  of  some  Length,  is  to  inl 
Thus  Chri  bo*  b,  Matt.  xxi\ . 

81,  that  it  la  not  till  the  Bon  of  Man  I  te  in  the 

clondfl  of  heaven  with  power  and  great  glory, 

f  a  trumpet, 
gather  together  nil  elect  from  the  four  w 
from  ther.     It  \a  implied 

y  clearly  in  Christ's 
judgment  of  the  Living  nations  after 

welcome  to  those  at  his  right  hand.     I 
i  'ather,  inherit  the  kii 


aim:  to  BE  '  ii  \v;i-:i>.  409 

for  you  from  the  foundation  of  the  world,"  Bhows  thai 
they  are  do!  before  to  be  Inheritors  of  thai  kingdom 
in  the  form  in  which  they  arc  then  to  become  ;  and 
therefore  are  nol  before  to  1"-  fitted  for  it  by  bi 
changed  to  immortal  :  while  on  the  other  hand,  the 
prediction  with  which  the  prophecy  closes,  indie: 
thai  it  is  at  that  epoch  that  thai  change  is  to  be 
wrought.  "And  these  (on  the  left  hand)  shall  go 
away  into  everlasting  punishment ;  but  the  righteous 
into  life  eternal,''  v.  -id.  If,  as  this  clearly  teaches, 
they  are  then  first  to  enter  on  a  life  that  i-  never  to 
end,  it  must  he  by  a  passage  from  a  mortal  life  :  and 
therefore  their  change  from  mortal  to  immortal  is  to 

take  place  at  that  epoch. 

Not  only,  however,  is  a  period,  probably  of  some 
Length,  to  pass  after  Christ  comes  and  raises  the  holy 
dead,  before  any  of  the  living  saints  will  be  changed 
to  immortal — but  it  is  foreshown  in  the  parable  of  the 
virgins,  that  all  of  them  are  not  to  be  changed  at  the 
same  time.  The  bridegroom  in  that  parable  repre- 
sents Christ  ;  the  bride  the  risen  and  glorified  sail 
the  marriage  the  installation  of  those  saints  in  their 
offices  as  kings  and  priests  in  Christ's  kingdom  on  the 
earth  :  and  the  virgins  who  were  invited  to  the  mar- 
riage Bupper,  the  living  believers  who  are  to  be  invi- 
ted to  enter  into  the  kingdom  under  that  union  of  the 
risen  saints  with  Christ  in  the  rule  of  the  world.  The 
ten  virgins  then  were  all  believers  ;  for  they  were  all 
invited  to  be  guests  at  the  supper,  and  all  had  had  oil 

in  their  lamp?,  though  five   of  them   had  not   had 

18 


410  od 

■  tire  their  admii  a  of 

th<-  brid  Mid  participation  in  '! 

inadequacy  of  their  oil  for  ill  ion,  and  I 

elusion  on  that  account  from  ti. 
sapper,  show  therefore  tint  a  portion  of  the  li-. 

•  ming  will,  by  a  waul 

requisite  qnalific  rcluded  from  unmed 

admission  t.»  his  kingdom  by  a  full  deliverance  from 
the  cur--  and  elevation  to  a  |  nd  immortal  life, 

which  arc  the  c.  »n«l  i  t  ion  and  form  of  that   admission. 

The  gift  to  them  of  such  a  redemption  will  take  j  . 
later  period,  when  they  shall  hai 

for  it  :  as  a  like  redemption  also  ofol 

ward-  1m  ation,  will  doubt 

rom  time  to  time  as  they  reach  a 
ition  for  it. 
\ ■  -  ;.  •  |     ■'    I    :'  Life  beli 

millennium   will    be 
thus  freed  from  the  euro  I  to  immortality. 

or  what  -hare  oi  the  popolation  of  1  will  at 

lime  belong  t<»  this  class,  no  int i 1 1 : 
That  a  large  share  will  ;tt  every  period  I  na- 

tural life,  and  that  all  tli I  into  life  will  he  bom 

in  that  state,  is  indicated  by  the  fact  that  wh< 

the  thousand    y< 
i'ortl.  .  he  will  find  l 

ready  to  yield  t'»  his  tempting  influences  and  m 

war  upon  the  camp  of  the  saints,  and  npon   the   holy 

city:  by  which  is  meant  probably  those  who  are  in 

immortal    ami    those    w!  in    glorifi 


in  Tin:  NATURAL  LIFE.  411 

Those  revoltera  will  therefore  have  been  born  in  the 
natural  fallen  life,  an  1  of  parents  and  predecesi 
who  were  of  a  like  birth.    It  is  revealed,  oeverth 
that  all  nati  to  be  brought  to  obedience  to 

Christ  during  his  millennia]  reign.  At  his  coming  in 
the  clouds,  he  la  to  receive  "a  dominion  and  glory 
and  kingdom,  that  all  people,  nations,  and  languages 
should  serve  him,"  and  all  nations,  it  is  foretold,  are 
to  come  and  worship  before  him  (Rev.  xv.  4),  and  the 
earth  be  lull  of  the  knowledge  of  the  Lord,  as  the  wa- 
cover  the  e  9).    The  generations 

that  come  into  life  during  that  period,  then,  though 
born  like  those  of  the  present  time  under  the  blight 
of  the  fall,  will  all  become  obedient,  and  be  changed 
at  length  from  mortal  to  immortal,  and  all  will  ulti- 
mately be  glorified,  as  Christ  is  to  "  change  this  hum- 
ble body  into  a  form  like  his  glorious  body,"  and  all 
are  to  be  "  like  him,  for  they  are  to  see  him  as  he  is." 

This  exposition  of  these  passages  is  indeed  objected 
to  very  earnestly  by  some,  on  the  pretext  that  it  is 
incredible  from  the  nature  of  glorified  and  unglorified 
beings,  that  they  can  dwell  in  the  same  world,  and 
communicate  with  each  other  ;  and  by  others  on  the 
ground  that  if  it  is  not  impossible,  it  at  least  cannot 
i.'ii  how  human  beings  of  such  different  cl;;~ 
subsisl  in  the  same  world,  and  each  have  a  sphere 
suited  to  their  nature  and  station  in  relation  to  the 
other. 

But  to  this  we  reply,  that  our  comprehension  of 
their  several  natures,  their  respective  spheres  and 


412         we 

relation  ad  their 

full!  ii    in 

the  certainty  thai  tl  ther  on 

h  ami  in  intimate  relatioi  I  b<  r.     I 

lieve  Dothing  bnt  *  hat  we  fully  i 

■  bat  tin-  bolj 

From  tl. 
earth  and  a  new  1. 
comprehension  "i"  the  nature  <•!  eil  I 
changes.     We  only  know 

:    his   j »n 

place,  and  we  believe  \.  ly  on  bis  testim 

And  bo  in  rei 

with  Christ  «»n  the  earth,  the  ch 

■  rs  at  hi-  c  ming  t<>  immortal,  the  i  mtin  i 

• 
in  the  natural  life,  and  I 

illcimial 

:i  ;— tlu-  n  in  ord 

id  which  mbsist  b  I  act  in  r 

but  simply  whether  God   ! 

■  d  in  hi  -  they  arc     [f  he  has, 

-  nnhesitati 
in  our  luti 
which  lies  out  of  our  comprehension.    And  thai 

hi  futurities  we  have  entu 
is  indispntal 
1.  11 


on  god's  TESTIMONY,  1 19 

dead  are  to  be  raised  in  glory  at  bis  coming,  and  to 

:i   w  ith  him.     \i'\ .  ix.  1  »'»,  v.  '.».  LO  ;   I   I 
;,  40  54  :  Dan.  xii.  18,  22,  27. 
:!.  Be  irtainly  foreshown,  also.  I ' 

Living  believers  at  the  time  of  his  coming  arc  to 
changed  from  mortal  to  immortal.     1   Cor.  xv.  52 
5  I  :  2  Cor.  v.  1  :  Rom.  vii.  11   IT,  xxi.  3  5. 

3.  He  lias  foreshown  with  equal  certainty,  that 
mankind  are  to  exisl  as  nations  during  Christ's  mil- 
lennial reign  over  them,  Dan.  vii.  13,  11.  27  J  Rev. 
xv.  1.  xxi.  23-26,  xxii.  2.  ami  therefore  thai  they  are 
to  continue  to  Bubsisl  in  08.     To 

suppose  that  they  are  not,  is  to  Bnppose  that  the  im- 
penitent, or  a  portion  of  them  who  are  in  life  whi  D 
Christ  comes, are  to  continue  in  life  and  impenitence 
through  the  whole  of  his  millennial  r<  ign,  and  consti- 
tute the  host  like  the  sand  of  the  sea  in  number,  who 
are  then  to  make  war  on  the  holy  and  the  holy  city  ; 
for  if  no  generations  arc  to  come  into  life  after  Christ 
comes,  who  are  to  constitute  the  nations  whom  Satan 
is  to  seduce  to  revolt  on  his  release  from  the  ab; 
But  to  Buppose  that  those  who  revolt  at  the  close  of 
the  millennium  are   the   nations  who  are   in   impeni- 

:e  at  Christ's  coming  at  its  commencement,  is  to 
Buppose  that  no  conversion  of  the  nations  is  to  take 
plaee  during  his  millennial  reign  :  which  is  to  contra- 
diet  the  express  prediction  that  all  people;  nations', 
and   in:  are   then  -     ve   him.  Dan.  vii.  14, 

-~  :  thai  the  kingdom  of  this  world  is  then  to  become 
his,  K'  v.  xi.  !•">  :  that  the  nations  are  to  be  healed  bv 


•Ill  Tli: 

I ' 
light  New  _  l  :  and 

all  are  to  kn<>\\   liiiu  from  the  least  01 

■   !  I      .  \  ni.  1 1.     Besidt  s,  it  is  <  spr< 

hi  in  thi  nt  with  X«iah.aii(l  Al»rahaiu. 

in  a  great  many  oth<  :ikin«l  ai 

continue  in  an  endl< 
ix.  8-16,  wh< 

.it v.  Dan*  i\.  :;.  3  1  :  Pa.  i •! 1 1 ,  13, 
a  here  t!  d  of  bnman 

tione 

kingdom,  and  hia  own  eternity,  (       .  cviL7;  Joel 
iii.  20,  when  '1  thai  the 

\  braham  >ntinue  throngli 

:  and  Eph.  iii.  21,  where  it  la  indi< 
that  the  church  i  tinne  in  that  are 

to  extend  through  I  b 

1.    . 
into  be  millennium,  ■ 

into  it  fallen  beings  ;  inasmuch  aa  the  nations  whom 
-  •   n  is  to  assail  on  his  i  the  abj  h 

be  Led  by  him  into  an  open  war  on  tl  i.     They 

are  therefore  Hen  beinga.    They  can 

been  n  uewed,  or  they  could  not  be 
a  rev. .It  ami  meet  Buch  a  doom  &       I 
A-  th<  lationa  then  have  thua been n 

mi  and  impreaeion,  n 
them,  whet) 
they  involve  or  not.   The  events  which  they  i 

:r  aatun 


THE  TRUTHS  THBY  WILL  DISPLAY.  415 

God's  wisdom  and  goodness;  or  he  would  not  1 
purposed  and  revealed  them.  Such  a  method  of  pro- 
cedure is  doubtless  to  Bubserve  important  ends.  It 
is  characteristic  of  God's  dispensations  over  the  world, 
that  they  are  framed  and  conducted  in  such  a  manner 
that  on  the  one  hand  a  full  exhibition  takes  place 
under  them  of  the  character  of  man  as  a  fallen  being  ; 
and  on  the  other,  it  is  seen  thai  the  salvation  of  those 
who  are  saved  is  altogether  the  work  of  God,  and 
that  they  are  truly  recovered  from  the  bondage  of 
sin,  and  imbued  with  the  holy  affections  that  make 
them  meet  to  be  admitted  to  his  kingdom.  And  the 
reign  of  the  glorified  saints  with  Christ  on  the  earth 
during  the  millennium,  and  the  change  of  a  portion 
of  the  living  saints  from  mortal  to  immortal,  while 
the  greater  part  of  the  living  continue  in  the  nat- 
ural life,  may,  among  other  ends,  be  designed  to 
manifest  these  and  other  truths,  the  perception  of 
which  by  the  universe,  is  essential  to  a  just  under- 
standing of  the  righteousness,  wisdom,  and  grace  of 
the  Divine  ways.  Under  the  present  dispensation, 
there  18  B  vast  manifestation  of  what  man  is  when 
left  wholly  without  the  Spirit  of  God,  and  when 
enjoying  but  partial  measures  of  his  sanctifying 
influences.  There  is  no  exhibition  whatever  of 
what  he  may  be  in  the  natural  life  under  the  full 
3  of  the  Spirit.  There  is  none  of  what  he  would 
have  been  had  he  not  fallen,  and  what  he  may  and 
will  be  if  rest        1    from  the  effects  of  the  fall  to  a 


116  thi 

1  tit  for  an  immortal  life.    Tl 
old  ultimately  1 
fallen,  and  i 
.  the  form  they  are  I  *  their  n 

tion,  which  ra   the   bighesl   our  nal 
attain.  implications  of  will 

luring  the  millennium,  on  with 

a  resplendence, doubtless,  that  will  n 
1  i lt  1 1 1  in  the  eyes  of  the  infinite  hosts  that  wil 

quafnted  w ith  them,  on  the  truth. 
dom,  and  G 

displ  '  improbably 

will  l>e.  the  purity,  intelli 
ednesa  of  which  mankind  are  capable  under  the  all- 

sforming  influencee  of  the  Spirit   while  id 
natural  life.    For  they  will  doubt 

est  perfection  of  which  their  natures,  \\ ; 
remain  mortal,  are  capable,  and  a  fresh  d 

■   ' 
dom,  and  benevoiei  which  God 

*•  hand,  and  ther 

that  the  degradation  and  misery  with  which  men 
have  been  overwhelmed  through  all  pr< 
have  been  the  work  of  Bin.     E 
momenl  to  the  vindication  and  gl<  God 

the  intelligence  and  happii  innumerable 

ta  of  his  onfi  lien  buI  I 

by 

i;   is  b; 


THKY  ABE  fO  1:1:  i:r.<  i:ivi:d  with  JOT,  117 

and  aversion  even,  it  >h«»uM  fcje  received  with  un- 
hesitating faith,  thankfulness  for  tlie  grace  which  it 
display e,  and  joy  at  the  blissful  prospect  which  it  im- 
folda  to  our  world. 


418  Tl! 


(HA  PTBB    X  X  X  I  V. 

\.     -THK  .TKTAINTY  THAT  Tin> 

THK  CHIU»RKN  OK    C'  LILLY  ARK  |  LOTC 

To  BEI  THAT  THIS  [|  TIT  r,  AND    TO 

Such  are  the  great  purposes  which  <, 
vealed  respecting  the  redemption  of  the  world  ;  such 

kingdom  and  reign  of  Christ  which  ai 
hand,  and  az  .tend  through  everlasting  i 

The 

n<].  and  follow  the  i  I 

doI  fictions,  the  work  of  imagination,  or  dedncti 
by  a  process  of  reasoning.    Th 

evmts  that  arc  named  and  described  by  the  prop] 
m  all  the  forms  in  which  their  predictions 
conveyed  :  in  literal  language,  in  language  in  which 
figar  I  to  illustrate  them,  and  ex] 

them  more  rally  and  forcibly  :  and  in  visions,  in  which 
Bymbols  are  used  t«>  represent  them.    And  I 

shown  through  all  tl.  or  media  of  pro- 

v  with  a  frequency,  a  clearness,  and  an  amplitude 
thai  i-  Dot  equalled  by  any  other  tl. 
dictive  Scriptures.    The  overthrow 


that  THBSE  BVE5TB  auk  F0BBBH0WN.  419 

Nineveh,  of  Tyre,  of  Jerusalem  itself,  arc  not  fore- 
shown with  greater  frequency,  minuteness,  and  cer- 
tainty (A'  meaning,  than  the  continuance  of  the  anti- 
christian  powers,  and  the  non-conversion  of  the  world 
down  to  the  coming  of  Christ ;  his  coming  in  person 
at  the  sound  of  the  seventh  trumpet ;  his  raising  his 
doad  saints  in  -lory  ;  overthrow  of  the  fourth  empire  ; 
establishment  of  his  throne  on  the  earth;  converting 
the  nations,  and  reigning  here  in  love,  and  continuing 
the  work  of  salvation  through  the  ages  of  ages.  And 
the  prophecies  in  which  these  events  are  foreshown 
can  no  more  be  wrenched  from  this  meaning  and  tor- 
tured into  predictions  of  a  different  class  of  events, 
than  those  prophecies  of  the  destruction  of  Nineveh 
and  Babylon,  Tyre  and  Jerusalem,  can  be  wrested 
from  the  sense  by  which  they  foreshow  their  over- 
throw. They  cannot  be  set  aside  or  made  the  vehi- 
cle of  predictions  of  a  different  set  of  events  by  alle- 
gorization,  spiritualization,  or  any  other  process  that 
may  not  be  applied  with  equal  propriety  to  any  other 
parts  of  the  Scriptures,  empty  them  of  their  true  sig- 
nification, and  make  them  predictions  of  whatever  a 
lawless  fancy  may  choose  to  ascribe  to  them.  If 
Christ's  coming  in  the  clouds  <^l'  heaven  at  the  over- 
throw of  the  wild  beast  and  his  armies,  under  the  E 
eiith  trumpet,  is  to  be  spiritualized,  then  his  coming 
in  person  to  raise  and  judge  the  dead  at  any  other 
time  must,  on  the  Bame  principle,  be  spiritualized, 
and  every  prophecy  BWepI  from  the  sacred  word  that 
be  is  ever  toe  me  in  person  to  the  earth.    If  the  rev- 


i 

ill  \'r.  :.t  that  !. 

v.  itfa  i  i 

iritualized,  and  hi 

ler,  his  E  H  D,  ami  I 

Id  to  hi. 

nt  medium  I 
indubitable  t 

. 
Lation  IV 
viction  of  many  of  the  careful  bI 

intrv  within 
:t  i-  well  kii 
in  tl 

aver  hich 

-  wholly  unau 
Involving  them  in  tb 

. 
pj  lied  to  them,  all  I 


AS  THE  SCHEME  OF  B  vr.  1-1 

demption  and  a  futur  ]  and  bh  i  conviction  li 

prevailing  extensively  thai  to  reaeb  their  true  mean- 
ing, the  prophecies  that  are  expressed  in  langu 
merely,  must  be  interpreted  according  t<>  the  usual 
laws  of  speech  :  and  those  that  are  conveyed  through 
symbols,  according  to  the  principles  of  symbolization 
as  they  are  presented  in  the  explanations  which 
Spirit  of  God  lias  given  for  oar  guidance,  of  the  lead- 
in  the  propheeies  themselves.  And  a 
similar  change  is  taking  place  in  Europe.  Several 
scholars  of  high  repute  on  the  continent  unreservedly 
repudiate  and  denounce  the  allegorizing  and  spiritu- 
alizing methods  of  exposition  as  wholly  unauthorized, 
absurd,  and  misleading ;  and  they  are  rejected  also 
by  a  Large  body  of  able  and  evangelical  teachers  in 
Great  Britain. 

This  great  scheme  of  administration  is  consistent 
also  with  all  the  other  teachings  of  the  Script ur<  9, 
and  corroborated  by  them.  It  is  inwoven  with  them 
in  every  part  of  the  sacred  volume,  and  it  is  in  its 
light  alone  that  they  can  be  justly  understood.  No 
forced  constructions  arc  necessary  to  bring  them  into 
harmony  with  it  ;  no  yawning  gulf  is  to  be  leaped  to 
pass  from  the  one  to  the  other.  And  it  exhibits  the 
work  of  redemption  in  a  greatness  and  beauty  that 
are  Buitable  to  the  grandeur  of  God's  attributes,  and 
the  wonderfulness  of  the  means  by  which  it  is  accom- 
plished. A  complete  restoration  at  length  of  the 
generations  of  men  from  the  curse  of  the  fall, 
continuance  of  their  redemption  as  they  come  into 


IT  i  BY 

ItatioD   to   the 
the  glory,  and  the  bliss  of  immortal  suitable 

to  t!  : .  the  wisdom,  and  tl 

in  harmony  with  the  greatness  of  Christ's  hnmiliation 
an<l  sacrifice,  and  the  riches  of  his  lore.     ]■ 
ponda  too  with  the  \  ;iIJd 

the  momentous  ends  it  is  to  answer  in  ti.  f  the 

infinite  hosts  of  his  subjects  th 
Their  view,  who  reject  this  system, 
cnrrence  with  the  attributes       I      !.  or  the 
tions  that  are  given  in  his  word  of  the  «'x; 
riches  of  his,  ihibits  i  n  of 

men  as  «•« niliin-«l  within  very  narrow  Lin  fall- 

ing  infinitely  below  the  nation  that  i 

for  it  in  Christ's  expiation.    For  it  maintai 

vation  and  pardon  of  UN  cfa  their 

end  after  the  !  ipse 

Christ  is  thru  to  abdicate  his  mediatorial 

that  to  prevent  any  farther  accumulation  of  evils 

from  the  fall  <»f  men.  their  multiplication 

minated,  and  the  earth  struck  from  83  -  :   imply- 

ing that  Christ's  work  is  not  adequal  mp- 

of  men,  as  a  perpetuaOymultiplying  race,froin 

curse  of  the  fall,  and  hem,  to  holil 

and  immortality;  and  that  Satan  is  to  triumph 

only  in  the  ruin  of  more  than  will  be  hut  in  a 

demonstration  that  the  difficulties  in  which  h< 

volved  the  divine  government  are  BUCh,  that  I 

only  cam  bem  ;  hut  that  1, 


Tin:  OTHEB  TEACHINGS  OP  THE  BCBIPTUBB8,         423 

a  worse  defeat  by  any  other  means  than  preventing 
a  farther  multiplication  of  the  pace  by  bearing  them 
t<>  cili'!-  Bcenea  <>f  existence,  and  annihilating  the 
earth.  For  why  should  be  intercept  them  from 
continuing  to  come  into  life,  if  lie  can  redeem  ami 
reign  over  them  in  a  manner  glorious' to  his  perfec- 
tions, and  favorable  to  the  well  being  of  the  rest  of 
his  kingdom  ? 

That  this  i-  the  Bcheme  of  the  divine  purposes  that 
is  revealed  in  the  Bible  is  confirmed,  moreover,  by 
the  consideration  that  it  belongs  to  a  great  system  of 
predictions  that  have  been  fulfilling  for  four  thousand 
years  ;  all  the  verifications  of  which  have  been  accord- 
ing to  their  Bense  as  interpreted  by  the  established 
laws  of  language  and  symbols,  as  we  have  stated  and 
applied  them.  A  vast  series  of  the  language  pro- 
phecies that  were  addressed  to  Noah,  to  Abraham, 
Isaac,  and  Jacob,  to  Moses  and  the  Israelites  in 
Egypt  and  at  Sinai,  to  Samuel,  to  David,  to  Isaiah, 
and  the  other  prophets  of  the  Old  Testament,  to  the 
Jews  by  Christ,  and  to  the  Jews  and  Gentiles  by 
the  apostles,  have  been  fulfilled  ;  and  every  one  of 
them  according  to  the  sense  of  the  prediction  as  in- 
terpreted by  the  ordinary  laws  of  language.  Not  a 
verification  or  probable  verification  of  one  of  them, 
if  allegorized,  or  spiritualized,  can  be  shown  to  have 
taken  place.  To  apply  thai  method  of  interpretation 
to  the  promises  to  Noah,  Abraham,  and  David;  to  the 
predictions  of  the  conquest  and  destruction  of  Jeru- 
salem by  the  Babylonians ;  of  the  captivity  of  the 


t-i  no 

incarnaJ  I  pture 

Jem  ai.  the  Ro- 

. 
in  of  all  their  true  m 
■   them  ; 

bolical    pro]  i1 

Ionian,  Median,  G  andBoi 

been    in    i  measure    fulfilled  ;    an 

cting  the  Roman  empire  and  the  church  b 
D   accomplish  [     to  their  .hen 

intei  by  the  laws  of  Byml 

emplified — as  we  hai  id  them — intheexp] 

i  that  are  given  by  the  Spirit  of  inspiration  in 
themselves.    Ami  not  one  of  tl 

has  I  ified  in  any 

spiritualize  thein.  is  to  make  cari 

render  it  im]  Bhow  that  they  1. 

mplishment     A-  all  th 
i  fulfilled,  have  thus  been  fulfills 

the   m'Ii.h'   tiny  |  led   by  :  nei- 

:•>  their  -  b  interpn 

by  these  prii 

their  fulfillm 
And  th<  I  church 

.  h  as  tlii  m  of  predii 

whatevi 
the  world  by  the 


ATTITUDE  OP  THE  WOULD  AND  CHURCH.  125 

purpose,  while  it  continues  under  the  administration 
;it  presenl  exercised  over  it.  Large  as  the  buc< 
of  missions  is,  nol  the  Blightesl  progress,  taking  the 
world  together,  is  made.  So  far  from  it.  the  retrog 
sions  in  Christendom  into  infidelity,  atheism,  panthe- 
ism, or  other  forms  of  fata]  error,  are  immensely  more 
than  enough  to  counterbalance  the  conversions  even 
nominally  to  Christianity  in  heathen  lands.  Within 
fifty  to  sixty  years,  nearly  the  whole  of  Protestant 
Germany,  Sweden.  Denmark,  the  Netherlands.  France, 
and  Switzerland, have  gone  into  rationalism,  atheism, 
id  idealism, pantheism,  spiritualism, 
or  other  forms  of  infidelity  have  Bpread  to  a  vael  ex- 
.!  Britain  and  her  colonies,  and  in  the 
United  Stal 

On  the  other  hand,,  there  are  decided  indications 
that  many  of  the  great  events  foreshown  in  these 
predictions  are  to  take  place.  No  one  would  be  sur- 
prised at  a  revolution  in  Europe  that  should  over- 
throw the  old  dynasties,  and  give  rise  to  democratic 
or  military  as.     Should  that  occur,  no  one 

would  deem  it  improbable  that  some  talented  chief- 
tain, like  the  first  or  present  Buonaparte,  would  r 
to   the   head   of  those   despotisms,   and   reunite   the 
western  Roman  empire  under  his  Bceptre.     X  i  one 
would  be  Burpri  old  Buch  a  despotism  ally  it- 

to  the  Catholic  hierarchies  for  the  sake  of  their 
support.    No  one  would  think  it  strange  should  such  a 
monarch  under  the  promptings  of  those  hierarci 
renew  the  persecution  of  the   Protestants,  and  at- 


126 

tempi  ;'  them   who  should 

boldly  denounce  bim  ■ 

and  proclaim  th<  of  Ghri 

tablish  hi  I  b. — 

\  would  b  •  surprised  it'  tach  ■  atioo 

.'.  od  the  Catholic  church,  and  1' 

.  and  it.-  destruction*     It 
la  w  hat  ■  real  proportion  of  the  peopl 
Spain,  Italy ,  Germany,  and  even  G  Britain   i 

wish.     It  would  r;il  but] 

•urn  to  their  national   la: 

ganize  and  re-establish  themi  ■  nation. 

Jt  would  excite  no  surprise  it'  under  tin-  imj 

made    by  tli>  I  >lit-.    the    COnvi  'Uld 

•  •rally  prevail  with  tin-   people   I       G         that 
the  COmil  I  'hrist    ifl   at  hand 

Bhonld  go  forth  to  proclaim  that  belief, and  I 

Lrlad  tidings  of  t!.  jpel  to  tin-  nat;  :rth. 

The  civil  world  hi  most  manifestly  tending 

political  and  antichristian  The 

dency  of  the  evangelical  church  is  manif) 

the  views   and  ti.  which  are    1 

the  peop 

a  .d  finally,  it  is  revealed  in  ti.  thai 

while  the  antichristian  party  will  continue  to  r. 
of  Christ 

who  hold  ai 
and   endeavor   to   intercept    the    establishment  of 
Christ's  lungdom  ;  his  true  people  will 
brought  to  receive  it  ;  and  the  nndoubtii 


Till-:  DOCTRINE  OF  CHRIST'S  I  OMING    \\i>  REION.   427 

open  profession  <>t*  it  will  become  one  of  their  m 
distinctive  characteristics,  and  Lead  the  civil  rulers 
and  apostate  priests  to  attempt  by  persecution  and 
war  to  Bweep  them  from  the  earth.  Jt  is  main: 
from  the  measures  which  the  persecutors  arc  to  take 
to  preserve  the  bodies  of  the  Blain  witnesses  so  that 
ir  may  be  seen  with  the  most  indubitable  certainty 
whether  they  are  raised  from  death,  or  not,  that  the 
witnesses  are  td  die  in  the  belief  that  they  are  to  be 
raised  :  and  that  they,  therefore,  and  their  party  are 
to  interpret  the  prophecy  of  their  slaughter  and  re- 
surrection literally,  not  spiritually  ;  and  thence  that 
they  are  to  interpret  the  other  prophecies  with  which 
it  is  associated  literally  also  ;  and  accordingly  that  they 
are  to  believe  in  the  Bpeedy  infliction  of  destroying 
judgments  on  the  apostate  church  ;  the  coming  of 
Christ  to  intercept  the  beast  and  his  armies  in 
their  attempts  to  prevent  the  establishment  of  his 
kingdom  in  the  earth  ;  the  resurrection  of  the  holy 
dead  at  that  epoch,  and  the  commencement  of  his 
millennial  reign.  The  whole  body  of  the  witnes 
and  thus.-  who  sympathize  with  them  are  thus  indubi- 
tably to  be  avowed,  and  earnest  believers  in  Christ's 
speedy  coming  and  reign.  The  announcement  by  the 
angel  flying  through  mid-heaven  having  the  everlast- 
ing gospel  to  preach,  that  the  hour  of  God's  judg- 
ment has  come,  shows  also  that  those  whom  the 
angel  re  to  know  that  the  hour  has  come 

in  which  Christ  i<  to  descend  to  judge  and  destroy 
his   enemies  according  to   the   predictions  of   tl 


VE 

1 
\    I 

••  all 

I 
■ 

ruction  <>f  I 
rorld  is  imi 

■ 
i 

rid  cheri 
with  the  uti: 

.•ir  hearts  a 
e  which 
n  will  1  who  will  m 

Ay   that    th 

\  hich  the; 

mplisho 

• 
thence  in  the  form  of  an  eighth  m 

•  him 

their  power,  the  renati  * 

hierarchies,  and  a  fr 

them  th  it  the  literal  is  the 


T!I!  129 

tructioD  of  these  predictions,  and  lead  them  to 
an  unhesitating  and  exulting  faith  in  the  coming  and 
reign  of  Christ,  as  no!  only  the  doctrine  of  his  word, 
but  (heir  only  Balvation,  and  the  only  hope  of  the 
world. 

Such  is  the  issue  in  which  this  controversy  i>  to  ter- 
minate.   No  prepossessions;  no  endeavors  to  perpet- 
uate the  opposite  belief;   no  struggles  against  the 
light  of  truth  ;  no  efforts  of  antichrist  or  Satan  can 
prevent  it.    It  is  the  sovereign  and  gracious  will  of 
'.  and  he  will  accomplish  it  by  his  omnipotent 
Spirit  and  providence,    it  is  in  reference  to  this  ques- 
tion that  the  two  great  parties  into  which  mankind 
are  to  be  divided,  are  to  array  themselves,  and  engage 
in  their  last  conflict.     The  true  people,  the  faithful 
witnesses  of  Clod  are  to  believe  and  proclaim  the 
-rcat  teachings  of  the  prophecies,  that  Christ  is  to 
come  in  person,  raise  his  saints  from  the  grave,  dc- 
.  the  apostate  hierarchy  Bymbolized  by  Babylon, 
and  the  persecuting  civil  powers  represented  by  the 
wild  beast,  establish  his  throne  on  the  earth,  ju 
the  nations,  convert  those  of  them  that  are  not  con- 
signed to  d  in,  and  reign  here  for  ever  over 
1  race.     Antichrist  and  his  party  are  to 
deny   it.  and   to   undertake   to  verify   their  denial  by 
the  prediction  bf  the  resurrection  of  the 
slain  Wit  blishment  o['  an   Israelit- 
;  in  Judea,  and  are  to  perish  in  the  at- 
tempt. 

It  is  a  subject,  therefore,  of  th  practical 


II  I 

■ 
••»11  fa  b  to  be  1  lithe 

re  how  they  trifle  with  or 
it.     Let  those  « hu  reject  and  o] 

with  which  thej 

arra\  Ing  t hemselTet,  and  what  tl, 
it  Is  hastenii    . 


Date  Due 


or  f    * 

$> 

